June 12, 2026
By Alex Rubin

It might be too early to declare the Week 8 matchup between the Minnesota Wind Chill and the Oakland Spiders a definite championship game preview, but there is good reason to believe that these two teams are the best in the league, all due respect to New York and Boston. The teams are a combined 12-0 and rank among the league leaders on both sides of the disc. 

The Wind Chill are the stingiest offensive team in the league, leading the Association in completion percentage (96.05 percent).

But, on defense, the Spiders lead the league in blocks (100), break percent (46.6 percent, scoring on nearly half of their D-line points!), and scores against per game (14.57). Minnesota also has a top defense, leading the league in D-line conversion (scoring on 69 percent of their break chances) and sitting second behind the Spiders in scores against per game (15.8). 

Then again, the Spiders offense is incredibly difficult to stop. Oakland leads the league in scores per game (25.71) and has defeated five of their seven opponents by ten or more goals. 

No matter which way this game is sliced, the matchups are all strength-on-strength. 2025 All-UFA First Team selection Walker Frankenberg could be guarded by 2025 All-Defense First Team selections Justin Burnett or Noah Coolman or 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Lukas Ambrose. Carter Lankford, Max Williams, James Whealan, Sean Liston are all among this season’s blocks leaders, ready to stifle the Minnesota attack led by Will Brandt, Gordon Larson, and Josh Klane. 

There are some contrasts in this game. Oakland is coached by Liam Kreiss, in his first year working with the team. Ben Feldman is an original member of the 2013 Wind Chill and now holds coaching, front office, and ownership roles with the team. Minnesota won the 2024 title and has maintained their position near the top of the league since. Oakland, meanwhile, has not been to Championship Weekend since winning the 2015 title. Despite rising talent and increasing competitiveness, the Spiders have yet to crack the final four in the modern era.

History is on the Spiders side in this one. Minnesota has not won any of their games on the road against West Division opponents. Their first trip to the left coast was in 2018, when they lost a 29-28 thriller to Seattle. In more recent iterations, Colorado crushed the Wind Chill 25-15 in 2023 and Salt Lake prevailed 22-18 in 2025. Meanwhile, Oakland has won several high profile cross-divisional matches. The Spiders beat New York in their season opener last year, and won two games each against the Madison Radicals and Toronto Rush in 2014 and 2015. This season already, they won both games they played against the San Diego Growlers. 

While history might be on the Spiders’s side, and they are the home team, the talent level between these two teams is so evenly matched that this game is impossible to set a line for. If we’re lucky enough, this may not be the only matchup between these two teams this season.