Welcome back to another edition of SRFC Question of the week. This week, ICS wants to ask about the Western conference playoff situation. 7 teams + 6 spots = 1 team out.

You guys know how this works; leave us your answer in the comments section.

The top 7 teams in the Western conference are separated by 6 points. At the end of the regular season, which team will be on the outside looking in and why?

Josh - @josh_beeman

As much as I like some of the fans out there, I have to say that Tulsa Roughnecks will the the team on the outside looking in by the end of the season. They are currently sitting in 6th place with 25 games played, the most of any team in the entire league.

When all the other Western Conference teams begin to catch up with them in games played, we will see them slide down and out of the playoff picture. We saw a similar thing happen earlier this year when the Republic fell down the table in July as other teams caught up to them in games played. The teams above Tulsa will pull away when they take advantage of their games in hand, and the Republic will most likely leapfrog them when taking advantage of their 3 games in hand.

Kyle - @kylejkepner

Of the seven legitimate contenders it has to be said that Tulsa has the steepest climb. They have three games left, including trips to Portland and Sacramento. The season finale is at home to rivals OKC (first-place).

Meanwhile, Sacramento is two points behind Tulsa in the current standings, but has six remaining games to make them up. The Republic needs 12 points from those games to guarantee a place above Tulsa in the final table, less if they take points when the Roughnecks visit Bonney Field on August 29.

This week’s special guest is none other than Alicia Rodriguez, Managing editor of The Goat Parade, contributing editor at MLSsoccer.com and MLS League Manager for SBNation.

It’s a tough call, but to me, the Tulsa Roughnecks will be on the outside looking in come playoff time. The main reasons for this are that they’re a first-year team — obviously odds are at least a couple first-year teams will qualify for the postseason, and we know what first-year club Sacramento did last year, but still — and most notably, they have played more games than any of the Top 7. Some of those games in hand among the other six teams will come against each other, so Tulsa certainly still have a chance, but everyone else has two or three games to really put themselves ahead. A similar phenomenon existed earlier this season, when Sac Republic were playing well, yes, but they also had played more games than the rest of the West, so they were at the top of the standings for a combination of factors. It puts the pressure on the other teams to grab points, but they all have an advantage right now over Tulsa.

Now it’s your turn. Leave your answer in the comment section. Do it. Don’t be shy. You’ll feel good about yourself.