If the EXPANDED PLAYOFFS started today...

[Catch--22]

In conjunction with Edgy's Q of the week, here is what it might actually look like if the playoffs included every team. The Outlook currently lists exactly 500 schools eligible for an 11-man football playoff. I decided 8A thru 2A would have a balanced 64-team field, while 1A would bracket up the remaining 52 teams. I don't see much upset potential in round one of 8A. But I also don't see a lot of matchups that might be 77-0. Brother Rice has a cozy little quad as the 39-seed in 7A. I split 6A north/south. When I got to 5A, I lost interest. Enjoy!


~~~ 8A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#64 Round Lake at #1 Lincoln-Way East
#33 Taft at #32 Lane Tech
#49 Marist at #16 Glenbard West
#48 Schaumburg at #17 Belleville East

#57 Morton at #8 York
#40 Conant at #25 Downers South
#56 Dundee-Crown at #9 Maine South
#41 Bloom at #24 Neuqua Valley

#61 Curie at #4 Barrington
#36 Plainfield North at #29 Lake Park
#52 Zion-Benton at #13 Palatine
#45 Fremd at #20 West Aurora

#60 Proviso West at #5 Huntley
#37 Oswego East at #28 Naperville North
#53 Waukegan at #12 Warren
#44 Rich at #21 Niles West

Lower Bracket
#63 Joliet Central at #2 Loyola
#34 Bolingbrook at #31 Waubonsie Valley
#50 Hinsdale Central at #15 Stevenson
#47 New Trier at #18 Oswego

#58 Plainfield South at #7 Glenbard East
#39 O'Fallon at #26 East Aurora
#55 Elgin at #10 Naperville Central
#42 Stagg at #23 Lockport

#62 Metea Valley at #3 Edwardsville
#35 Homewood-Flossmoor at #30 St. Ignatius
#51 Leyden at #14 Sandburg
#46 Glenbrook South at #19 Lyons

#59 Glenbard North at #6 South Elgin
#38 Andrew at #27 Bartlett
#54 Oak Park at #11 Joliet West
#43 Evanston at #22 Minooka


~~~ 7A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#64 Romeoville at #1 Mt. Carmel
#33 Jacobs at #32 Auburn
#49 Larkin at #16 Harlem
#48 Hampshire at #17 Buffalo Grove

#57 Maine East at #8 Batavia
#40 Guilford at #25 Fenwick
#56 Glenbrook North at #9 Lincoln-Way West
#41 Niles North at #24 Wheaton-Warrenville South

#61 McHenry at #4 Quincy
#36 Highland Park at #29 Kenwood
#52 Belleville West at #13 St. Charles North
#45 TF South at #20 Addison Trail

#60 Granite City at #5 Lincoln Park
#37 Argo at #28 Yorkville
#53 Alton at #12 Bradley-Bourbannais
#44 Plainfield Central at #21 St. Rita

Lower Bracket
#63 Thornwood at #2 Normal
#34 West Chicago at #31 Eisenhower
#50 Rolling Meadows at #15 Downers North
#47 Pekin at #18 Whitney Young

#58 Proviso East at #7 Maine West
#39 Brother Rice at #26 Collinsville
#55 Shepard at #10 Lincoln-Way Central
#42 Plainfield East at #23 Hoffman Estates

#62 Jefferson at #3 Hononegah
#35 Reavis at #30 Mundelein
#51 DeKalb at #14 Prospect
#46 Elk Grove at #19 Willowbrook

#59 Oak Lawn at #6 Hersey
#38 Grant at #27 Wheaton North
#54 St. Charles East at #11 Lake Zurich
#43 Moline at #22 Libertyville


~~~ 6A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#32 Schurz at #1 Prairie Ridge
#17 Crystal Lake Central at #16 Lake Forest
#25 Von Steuben at #8 Belvidere North
#24 Vernon Hills at #9 Geneva

#29 Streamwood at #4 Mather
#20 Crystal Lake South at #13 Riverside-Brookfield
#28 Wheeling at #5 Richards
#21 Grayslake Central at #12 Amundsen

#31 Fenton at #2 Payton
#18 Senn at #15 Benet
#26 Westinghouse at #7 Cary-Grove
#23 Notre Dame at #10 Wauconda

#30 Lakes at #3 Antioch
#19 Deerfield at #14 Kaneland
#27 Belvidere at #6 Lake View
#22 Grayslake North at #11 Hubbard

Lower Bracket
#32 Springfield Southeast at #1 Kankakee
#17 Hinsdale South at #16 Triad
#25 Galesburg at #8 Crete-Monee
#24 Springfield at #9 Centenniel

#29 Richwoods at #4 TF North
#20 Englewood at #13 Lemont
#28 Champaign Central at #5 Peoria
#21 Danville at #12 Simeon

#31 Solorio at #2 Washington
#18 Burlington Central at #15 Bremen
#26 Thornton at #7 Glenwood
#23 Oak Forest at #10 Providence

#30 Rock Island at #3 Normal West
#19 Ottawa at #14 LaSalle-Peru
#27 Rockford East at #6 East St. Louis
#22 East Moline United at #11 Bloomington

 

[4Afan]

Seeing this just confirms I don't like it. I'd much rather see the week 9 games we have scheduled then shortening the season and seeing some of these matchups as first round games.

 

[mc140]

I see a lot of forfeits.

 

[Alexander32]

I see numerous games where the better team could win 77-0 if they wanted to score that many points. The top five seeds in 8A plus York and Maine South could do so.

 

[jsoulis]

Am I missing something? #53 Waukegan is 1-6 having lost 6 games in a row!

 

[Alexander32]

Am I missing something? #53 Waukegan is 1-6 having lost 6 games in a row!

This is a look at potential brackets IF all teams were allowed in the playoffs regardless of record. Under this hypothetical format Waukegan's 1-6 record would not prevent them from participating in the playoffs. That is why 64 teams are listed in the 8A bracket rather than the 32 teams that would be listed under the currently existing rules.

 

[ramblinman]

Interesting round one rematch with Marist and Glenbard West.

 

[USD24]

That Loyola/Joliet Central matchup is a can't miss

 

[crazylegs777]

You left out the CPS Blue teams. If playoffs are all in that includes them