Well, at first I really didn't want to leave CA and if Pepperdine is actually showing an upward trend at this rate, it might be a good idea to stay. When they were 99, you never knew if they were going to drop off into T3. A 40 place difference between 2 schools (UHLC v. Pepperdine) is a hell-of-a-lot more significant than 12 places. It's enough to give pause when the 2 schools you're really considering are heading in different directions (according to USNews).
Fair enough, and I see where you are coming from..it just seems to me that these rankings are so damn volatile that there is a danger in assuming a upward or downward trend from a year or so.