March 5, 2026
By Adam Ruffner
With talent evening and parity rising year over year, even the best games can come down to a single matchup or edge. Here is one major highlight for every "Friday Night Frisbee" showcase.
Week 1 | Carolina Flyers at San Diego Growlers | April 24
Last meeting: 26-25 (OT) San Diego (5-23-2025)
Stat to watch: The Flyers finished second in the league in team huck completion rate, while San Diego finished sixth worst in opponent huck rate. In their first and only meeting in 2025, Carolina was 10-of-14 (71 percent) from deep despite San Diego coming away with the victory.
Week 2 | Oregon Steel at Salt Lake Shred | May 1
Last meeting: 31-19 Salt Lake (6-13-2025)
Stat to watch: Oregon was second to last in takeaways per game, while the Shred allowed the fewest opponent blocks per game in 2025. The Steel generated just 10 total blocks in two games against the Shred last season, including only three takeaways in their last matchup.
Week 3 | DC Breeze at New York Empire | May 10 (Sunday)
Last meeting: 23-12 DC (7-26-2025)
Stat to watch: In 2025, New York averaged under six break scores per game for a full season for the first time since 2021, and mustered only two in their elimination game loss to the Breeze. In fact, in three different meetings against DC last season, the Empire scored just eight breaks total and registered a meager five blocks in two of those matchups.
Week 4 | Colorado Apex at DC Breeze | May 15
Last meeting: N/A
Stat to watch: After leading the league in red zone efficiency in 2023 (86 percent), the Breeze fell to 13th in 2024 (80 percent) before tumbling further to 17th in 2025 (76 percent), a franchise low for DC since the stat began in 2021. DC had eight different games last year with at least four turnovers in that crucial part of the field, a dubious stat for a perennial playoff team that has made four straight East Division championship game appearances.
Week 5 | Atlanta Hustle at Carolina Flyers | May 23 (Saturday)
Last meeting: 21-17 Atlanta (7-12-2025)
Stat to watch: The Hustle have led the UFA in each of the past two seasons in fewest turnovers, averaging just under 12 per game since the start of 2024. Against their fiercest rivals from Carolina, however, that turnover number ticked up to just over 13 per game in nine meetings over the past two years, and included single-game season highs in both 2024 and 2025.
Week 6 | Chicago Union at Indianapolis AlleyCats | May 29
Last meeting: 22-12 Chicago (6-27-2025)
Stat to watch: The new free agency contingent of Nate Little, Xavier Payne, James Pollard, and Will Wettengel on Indy’s D-line adds nearly six more blocks per game. The AlleyCats were in the bottom half of the league in 2025 in break scores per game, while the Union allowed the fewest opponent breaks per game.
Week 7 | New York Empire at Boston Glory | June 5
Last meeting: 22-21 New York (7-19-2025)
Stat to watch: The last three New York versus Boston games have been decided by a single goal, with Boston claiming two of the wins. These two teams finished second (Boston) and fifth (New York) in fewest turnovers per game in 2025, so even small mistakes could be game-changing in this high stakes environment.
Week 8 | Minnesota Wind Chill at Oakland Spiders | June 12
Last meeting: N/A
Stat to watch: A classic “offense versus defense”/”unstoppable force versus immovable object” stylistic clash, as the Spiders scored the third most goals per game (22.9) and the Wind Chill allowed the third fewest per game (16.5) in 2025. It’s playmaking strength matching up against playmaking strength, too, as the Frankenberg-Gordon-Rees-Adkins speedy quartet squares off with a Minnesota defensive coverage unit stocked with Burnett-Ambrose-Coolman-Hanson (and Krenik and Lacy and…)
Week 9 | Salt Lake Shred at Madison Radicals | June 18 (Thursday)
Last meeting: N/A
Stat to watch: Salt Lake has one of the fastest tempo offenses, if not the fastest, in the UFA, while the Radicals love to employ zone schemes to slow down the opposition. The Shred completed the sixth fewest passes per game (233) last season, while Madison forced eight different opponents to attempt more than 300 throws in a game in 2025.
Week 9 | Salt Lake Shred at Minnesota Wind Chill | June 19
Last meeting: 22-18 Salt Lake (7-18-2025)
Stat to watch: The Wind Chill might have the most disruptive defensive force in the league, but the Shred are no slouches. Salt Lake finished fourth in breaks per game last season, and was one of just five teams to register more than eight D-line scores per contest. Minnesota surrendered the second most break scores to opponents out of any playoff team in 2025, and could find themselves in trouble if they allow the Shred to attack in transition.
Week 10 | Oakland Spiders at Colorado Apex | June 26
Last meeting: 23-14 Oakland (7-26-2025)
Stat to watch: Colorado plays with a lot of variance, and many times their team’s success comes down to if they are connecting on their deep shots. Last year, the Apex posted a 7-2 record when they completed at least half of their huck attempts, and 1-3 when they did not; Colorado went 14-of-19 (74 percent) from deep in their May 30 win over Oakland, and 7-of-15 (47 percent) on July 26 in a first round playoff loss at Oakland. The Spiders allowed opponents to complete over 60 percent of their hucks in 2025, putting them smack dab in the middle of the league.
Week 11 | Chicago Union at Minnesota Wind Chill | July 3
Last meeting: 19-17 Minnesota (8-9-2025)
Stat to watch: The Wind Chill defense gave Chicago their two worst offensive performances of the season in 2025, and were particularly stingy in the red zone. The Union converted a season-low 68 percent of their chances inside the 20 in their Central Division championship game defeat, and finished tied for 10th overall in the league in red zone conversion rate; the Wind Chill, by contrast, were the fourth stingiest defense inside the 20 last season.
Week 12 | New York Empire at Chicago Union | July 10
Last meeting: 22-14 New York (8-27-2022)
Stat to watch: After registering just four total 20-plus turnover games from 2022 through 2024, the Empire had three such games alone in 2025, and lost all three matchups. Still, New York finished last season with the fifth fewest turnovers per game, and were one of just six franchises to commit fewer than 16 per game; the Empire haven’t had a season where they’ve averaged above 16 turnovers per game since 2018. Chicago will feature a much different defensive lineup than the one that averaged the most blocks per game in the UFA last year, but they still figure to be a stout unit.
Week 13 | Oakland Spiders at Salt Lake Shred | July 17
Last meeting: 18-17 Salt Lake (8-9-2025)
Stat to watch: The Spiders had fourth quarter leads in two of their three matchups against the Shred in 2025, but still ended up getting swept in the season series. Salt Lake closed out the West Division final on a 7-3 run, with an avalanche of small mistakes dooming the Spiders in their first divisional championship game since 2015; Oakland committed 11 red zone turnovers in a one-goal heartbreak.
