If the PLAYOFFS started today... (Week 6)

[Catch--22]

Every Monday(-ish), I bracket the 256 playoff teams using the IHSA Playoff Outlook. This is NOT a prediction. These are NOT my opinions. It is simply the most logical way the playoffs would be bracketed, using the IHSA's specific system, if today's standings were the final standings.

Each week I usually have to add/subtract teams to get a true 256. The Outlook doesn't adjust for a conference champion/representative falling below the cutoff. I take care of that before proceeding.

My adjustments.....

The Suburban Prairie East and West Suburban Gold conferences were not represented in the Playoff Outlook. I inserted their conference leaders, Plainfield East (7A) and Downers South (8A) into the playoff field. Every conference champion from conferences with 6 or more teams automatically qualifies for the playoffs. I adjust for that. This gave us 258 teams.

I need to eliminate 2 teams. The cutoff in the Playoff Outlook this week is BELOW .500.... 2-3 with 29 playoff points. Nazareth was the only team in the playoff field at that record, and therefore they were Team 256, the "last team in". FYI, other teams with at 2-3/29 were Bloomington (6A), Bradley-Bourbannais (7A), Wheaton-Warrenville South (7A), and Oak Park (8A). Those teams were the first out, and have good enough playoff points (as of now) to possibly qualify at-large with just 4 wins this year. The next-to-last team to qualify in the Outlook (Team 255) is Marian Central at 2-3/31. Team 254, Buffalo Grove, is also below .500 at 2-3/34.

My adjustments.... I put DGS in 8A. I put Plainfield East in 7A. I take Naz out of 5A. I take Marian Central out of 3A. I'm left with classes of 33-33-32-31-32-31-32-32. I move Andrew down to 7A. I move Quincy and Eisenhower down to 6A. I move Kaneland and Lakes down to 5A. Once again, I move MORRIS down to 4A. Dyett goes down to 3A. 2A and 1A do not change from the Playoff Outlook. Buffalo Grove is now the last team in at 2-3/34, and they are the only team below .500 to qualify.

THAT'S IT!

I'm skipping the biggest/smallest schools in each class again... it's late. Maybe I'll edit them in later.

NOTES:
- Glenbard West and York flipped the top two spots in 8A
- Several teams moved UP a class from last week... Plainfield North, Geneva, Pekin, Yorkville, Simeon, etc... So the smaller enrollment teams in IL won at a better clip last week than the big schools.
- Some pockets of 7A could set up very nicely for a lower-seeded team that is battle tested. Brother Rice is #20 right now, but that quad looks mighty nice for them.
- I won't say that 5A is abysmal. That would be rude. Let's call it uninspiring. That game is definitely staying locked in at 10 AM on 11/26.
- Lemont would get the Flyers in R2 again.
- In 2022, Schurz/Wauconda winner plays Wheeling/Ignatius winner for a spot in the quarters. How would that have sounded in 2012? 2002? 1992?

* is the smallest team in the class
^ is the biggest team in the class

~~~ 8A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#32 Downers South at #1 Glenbard West
#17 Oswego East at #16 Glenbard East
#25 Hinsdale Central at #8 Lane
#24 Naperville Central at #9 Homewood-Flossmoor

#29 Elgin at #4 Loyola
#20 O'Fallon at #13 Minooka
#28 Lockport at #5 Plainfield North
#21 Conant at #12 Edwardsville

Lower Bracket
#31 Rich at #2 York
#18 Neuqua Valley at #15 Huntley
#26 Maine South at #7 Glenbrook South
#23 Bolingbrook at #10 Lyons

#30 Bartlett at #3 Lincoln-Way East
#19 Warren at #14 Naperville North
#27 Belleville East at #6 South Elgin
#22 Marist at #11 Palatine


~~~ 7A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#32 Plainfield East at #1 Mt. Carmel
#17 Lake Zurich at #16 Guilford
#25 Lincoln Park at #8 St. Charles North
#24 Andrew at #9 Prospect

#29 DeKalb at #4 Hononegah
#20 Brother Rice at #13 Moline
#28 Reavis at #5 Pekin
#21 Batavia at #12 Yorkville

Lower Bracket
#31 Buffalo Grove at #2 Elk Grove
#18 Argo at #15 Collinsville
#26 Libertyville at #7 Rolling Meadows
#23 Hoffman Estates at #10 Wheaton North

#30 Highland Park at #3 Hersey
#19 St. Rita at #14 Jacobs
#27 Mundelein at #6 Downers North
#22 Lincoln-Way West at #11 Geneva


~~~ 6A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Schurz at #1 Wauconda
#9 St. Ignatius #8 Wheeling
#13 Grayslake Central at #4 Riverside-Brookfield
#12 Harlem at #5 Prairie Ridge

#15 Von Steuben at #2 Belvidere North
#10 Cary-Grove at #7 Antioch
#14 Amundsen at #3 Notre Dame
#11 Crystal Lake South at #6 Grayslake North

Lower Bracket
#16 Danville at #1 Simeon
#9 Richards at #8 Bremen
#13 Crete-Monee at #4 Normal West
#12 Oak Forest at #5 Perspectives/Leadership

#15 Kenwood at #2 Lemont
#10 East St. Louis at #7 Quincy
#14 Eisenhower at #3 Centennial
#11 Rock Island at #6 Glenwood


~~~ 5A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Westinghouse at #1 Sycamore
#9 Goode #8 Noble/Bulls
#13 Noble/Pritzker at #4 Noble/Speer
#12 Kaneland at #5 Sterling

#15 Lakes at #2 Glenbard South
#10 St. Patrick at #7 Boylan
#14 Payton at #3 Morgan Park
#11 St. Viator at #6 Carmel

Lower Bracket
#16 Marian Catholic at #1 Peoria
#9 Metamora #8 LaSalle-Peru
#13 Marion at #4 Highland
#12 MacArthur at #5 Mount Vernon

#15 Dunlap at #2 Mahomet-Seymour
#10 Ottawa at #7 Kankakee
#14 Hillcrest at #3 Mascoutah
#11 Jacksonville at #6 Centralia


~~~ 4A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Clark at #1 Morris
#9 Providence #8 Rochelle
#13 Marengo at #4 Hyde Park
#12 Geneseo at #5 Wheaton Academy

#15 Agricultural Science at #2 Richmond-Burton
#10 Dt. Laurence at #7 Evergreen Park
#14 Dixon at #3 St. Francis
#11 Coal City at #6 Joliet Catholic

Lower Bracket
#16 Peoria Notre Dame at #1 Carterville
#9 Rochester #8 Murphysboro
#13 Effingham at #4 Columbia
#12 Quincy Notre Dame at #5 Wood River-East Alton

#15 Richland County at #2 Sacred Heart-Griffin
#10 Mount Zion at #7 Breese Central
#14 Normal at #3 Macomb
#11 Freeburg at #6 Waterloo


~~~ 3A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Carver at #1 Princeton
#9 Urban Prep/Bronzeville #8 DePaul
#13 Winnebago at #4 Stillman Valley
#12 King at #5 Immaculate Conception

#15 Peotone at #2 Prairie Central
#10 Montini at #7 Genoa Kingston
#14 Noble/Hansberry at #3 Reed-Custer
#11 Dyett at #6 Byron

Lower Bracket
#16 Robinson at #1 Eureka
#9 Greenville at #8 Tolono Unity
#13 Olympia at #4 Mt. Carmel
#12 St. Joseph-Ogden at #5 Harrisburg

#15 New Berlin at #2 Williamsville
#10 Roxana at #7 Sullivan-Okaw Valley Coop
#14 Roseville at #3 Paxton Buckley-Loda
#11 Monticello at #6 Benton

 

[Catch--22]

6A seeded 1 to 32

Upper Bracket
#32 Danville at #1 Simeon
#17 Wheeling at #16 Antioch
#25 Harlem at #8 Normal West
#24 Crystal Lake South at #9 Perspectives/Ladership

#29 Von Steuben at #4 Lemont
#20 Rock Island at #13 Quincy
#28 Eisenhower at #5 Centennial
#21 Oak Forest at #12 Grayslake North

Lower Bracket
#31 Schurz at #2 Wauconda
#18 St. Ignatius at #15 Richards
#26 Grayslake Central at #7 Riverside-Brookfield
#23 Cary-Grove at #10 Prairie Ridge

#30 Kenwood at #3 Belvidere North
#19 East St. Louis at #14 Bremen
#27 Amundsen at #6 Notre Dame
#22 Crete-Monee at #11 Glenwood

 

[Catch--22]

4A seeded 1 to 32 (5A doesn't deserve it)

Upper Bracket
#32 Peoria Notre Dame at #1 Morris
#17 Rochelle at #16 Evergreen Park
#25 Geneseo at #8 Wheaton Academy
#24 Effingham at #9 Joliet Catholic

#29 Normal University at #4 St. Francis
#20 St. Laurence at #13 Breese Central
#28 Ag Science at #5 Hyde Park
#21 Freeburg at #12 Waterloo

Lower Bracket
#31 Richland County at #2 Richmond-Burton
#18 Mount Zion at #15 Rochester
#26 Marengo at #7 Macomb
#23 Quincy Notre Dame at #10 Columbia

#30 Clark at #3 Carterville
#19 Providence at #14 Murphysboro
#27 Dixon at #6 Sacred Heart-Griffin
#22 Coal City at #11 Wood River-East Alton

 

[goomsback]

Not going to lie when I say this. When I see 6A I see NND going very far.

 

[MC63]

If the Caravan and Lake Zurich both win their first playoff game (under this scenario), it would be the third time in four traditional seasons that Mt Carmel had a road game at LZ. (not counting pandemic spring season)

While their facilities generally are fine, their visitors' stands are 40 yards of bench across -- there are no stairs or hand rails. Getting to the top can be quite daunting when you're 112 years old.

 

[ramblinman]

Not going to lie when I say this. When I see 6A I see NND going very far.

Assuming NDCP doesn't get placed in the same 8-team bracket with ESL or Simeon, so do I. Week 9 at Rita is shaping up to be a very interesting game for both teams.

 

[olderbytheminute]

If the Caravan and Lake Zurich both win their first playoff game (under this scenario), it would be the third time in four traditional seasons that Mt Carmel had a road game at LZ. (not counting pandemic spring season)

While their facilities generally are fine, their visitors' stands are 40 yards of bench across -- there are no stairs or hand rails. Getting to the top can be quite daunting when you're 112 years old.

Your 3a bracket includes two teams that should not be included at this point which means two other teams need to be included which could completely shift pairings on every bracket rendering this pretty much you know what.
In 3a you included chicago noble hands berry and Roseville and both teams are listed with 3-3 records after five weeks. What has happened is that the ihsa has already credited those teams with forfeit wins coming later in the season. Those weeks games have not yet been played and so both noble handsberry and Roseville are currently 2/3 through five games. Do they have a sure win coming up in October. Absolutely. But so does Warren for example which plays Waukegan on Oct. 7 and Warren will correctly get that win credited to their record on Oct 7. Lumping teams with 2-3 records with teams currently 2-3 but with a forfeit win coming up later on is not comparing a level playing which can throw your entire exercise into the category of being inaccurate. I read this stuff for opinions and for accurate information. Nothing frustrates me more than seeing a Friday football score posted and then have it turn out to be inaccurate. In this case you have given two schools a one win edge over every other 2/3 team in the state when that edge is going to disappear in October when everybody has played 9 games. As a result you included one 2/3 team in the field of 256 and it should be 3 teams as of today. And if those two teams added are not both 3a teams then some of the 32 team fields will need to be adjusted and that will adjust 1-32 or 1-16 seedlings and or whose in and who’s out of a certain class.

 

[ramblinman]

Your 3a bracket includes two teams that should not be included at this point which means two other teams need to be included which could completely shift pairings on every bracket rendering this pretty much you know what.
In 3a you included chicago noble hands berry and Roseville and both teams are listed with 3-3 records after five weeks. What has happened is that the ihsa has already credited those teams with forfeit wins coming later in the season. Those weeks games have not yet been played and so both noble handsberry and Roseville are currently 2/3 through five games. Do they have a sure win coming up in October. Absolutely. But so does Warren for example which plays Waukegan on Oct. 7 and Warren will correctly get that win credited to their record on Oct 7. Lumping teams with 2-3 records with teams currently 2-3 but with a forfeit win coming up later on is not comparing a level playing which can throw your entire exercise into the category of being inaccurate. I read this stuff for opinions and for accurate information. Nothing frustrates me more than seeing a Friday football score posted and then have it turn out to be inaccurate. In this case you have given two schools a one win edge over every other 2/3 team in the state when that edge is going to disappear in October when everybody has played 9 games. As a result you included one 2/3 team in the field of 256 and it should be 3 teams as of today. And if those two teams added are not both 3a teams then some of the 32 team fields will need to be adjusted and that will adjust 1-32 or 1-16 seedlings and or whose in and who’s out of a certain class.

Take a chill pill, dude. Catch-22 doesn't do this professionally, and I'm sure it takes a ton of work to compile this week after week.

A simple, "Hey, perhaps you need to rethink including Roseville and Noble/Handsberry in your list because the IHSA has already credited them with a future forfeit win" would have sufficed.

 

[bobby22adamo]

Well thanks for rendering this exercise ‘you know what’. I didn’t know about the forfeits. I never noticed the two teams in the field with 6 games on their record rather than 5. My intention is always perfection, and I’m slightly disappointed that I didn’t deliver.

If this were Twitter, I could spare you the frustration of reading information that is possibly inaccurate by simply blocking you. Unfortunately, that isn’t an option on the Edgy boards, so we’ll just have to proceed with extreme caution.

if I take another crack at this next week, maybe I’ll try to find those forfeits ahead of time and make the necessary adjustments. Or, maybe I just won’t give a ‘you know what’, and do what I’ve always done. I don’t have an opinion on which way it’ll go yet 🤷🏻‍♂️

FWIW, Naz in 5A and MCC in 3A would be the teams back in the field if we remove Noble/Hansberry and Roseville. Slide another team from 5A to 4A and from 4A to 3A, and change probably 30 matchups in those 3 classes. But I usually don’t edit anything after I post. Week 6 of 2022 is just gonna have to be forever inaccurate.

 

[Alexander32]

5A should be interesting this year. Sycamore and Peoria are two excellent teams capable of beating good teams from larger classes. Unlike 6A where East St. Louis should dominate, or maybe 4A if Sacred Heart-Griffin is as good as advertised, the 5A class brings a good set of teams from many conferences all over the state that appear fairly evenly matched. It will be fun to see how the different conferences measure up, not just the teams. The Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8-White (Sycamore), Big Twelve (Peoria), Western Big Six (Sterling), Mississippi Valley (Highland), Apollo (Mahomet-Seymour), and Northern Illinois Ten (Boylan) will all be represented from around the state. The Chicago area will be represented by the Catholic League (St. Patrick), the Public League (Morgan Park), the Southland (Kankakee), and the Upstate Eight (Glenbard South). The Upstate Eight is clearly over-matched in 8A. Can it do something in 5A?

Sycamore is my choice to take the 5A title.

 

[Catch--22]

The bobby22adamo reply is actually me. This guy got me so flustered, that I logged in on my Edgy burner account accidentally.

When I started coming here back in ‘01 or whatever, I didn’t even have an email address yet. So all this time, Catch-22 has been attached to my sister’s email address. Just wanted to clarify that bit of information. There will be no further clarification of Hansberry however.

Have a blessed day everyone! 😉

 

[RockSoup]

Joseph Heller would probably appreciate this thread.

 

[McEvergreen]

Yawwnnnnnnnnn....... Loyola wins 8A, MC wins 7A, ESL wins 6A no matter what the brackets look like.

 

[iamgroot]

The bobby22adamo reply is actually me. This guy got me so flustered, that I logged in on my Edgy burner account accidentally.

When I started coming here back in ‘01 or whatever, I didn’t even have an email address yet. So all this time, Catch-22 has been attached to my sister’s email address. Just wanted to clarify that bit of information. There will be no further clarification of Hansberry however.

Have a blessed day everyone! 😉

Go to https://edgytim.forums.rivals.com/account/ and change your email

 

[corey90]

Yawwnnnnnnnnn....... Loyola wins 8A, MC wins 7A, ESL wins 6A no matter what the brackets look like.

LWE will have something to say about Loyola. Maybe Loyola travels to Frankfort for a change.

 

[olderbytheminute]

Go to https://edgytim.forums.rivals.com/account/ and change your email

Here’s the thing. Saturday someone asked for a score between mighty Loyola and Fenwick. The response I saw was 27-24 Loyola victory. I also saw two comments based on that score…..wow. Marist might have a shot against Loyola next week and another saying that close score was one of the two biggest surprises of the weekend. I then got wrapped up in college grid on Saturday the nfl on Sunday and found out on Monday afternoon that it was a running clock game with Loyola dominant as expected. That is frustrating.
Now when this past weekend someone said East St. Louis might not give up another point all season I know that’s an opinion. I can agree or debate it. People think Mt. Carmel and Joliet Catholic should play 8A every year and I can agree or debate it. But I count on people on this forum giving opinions and facts. I don’t do well with incorrect information. All I was doing was correcting it so everyone could understand the error. The author brought up the term “blocking” someone online who pointed out the information was incorrect. That in my opinion is a sad commentary on accuracy.

 

[McEvergreen]

LWE will have something to say about Loyola. Maybe Loyola travels to Frankfort for a change.

Really? Thats all you got? Lockport won in Wilmette by two touchdowns 😂

 

[iamgroot]

Here’s the thing. Saturday someone asked for a score between mighty Loyola and Fenwick. The response I saw was 27-24 Loyola victory. I also saw two comments based on that score…..wow. Marist might have a shot against Loyola next week and another saying that close score was one of the two biggest surprises of the weekend. I then got wrapped up in college grid on Saturday the nfl on Sunday and found out on Monday afternoon that it was a running clock game with Loyola dominant as expected. That is frustrating.
Now when this past weekend someone said East St. Louis might not give up another point all season I know that’s an opinion. I can agree or debate it. People think Mt. Carmel and Joliet Catholic should play 8A every year and I can agree or debate it. But I count on people on this forum giving opinions and facts. I don’t do well with incorrect information. All I was doing was correcting it so everyone could understand the error. The author brought up the term “blocking” someone online who pointed out the information was incorrect. That in my opinion is a sad commentary on accuracy.

He owes you nothing. Nobody is getting paid to post on here.

This is NOT a prediction.

It is in the first post and constantly repeated. Literally a "buyer beware" and then you get bent all out of shape. 🙄🙄🙄🙄

 

[MalleusMaleficarum]

5A should be interesting this year. Sycamore and Peoria are two excellent teams capable of beating good teams from larger classes. Unlike 6A where East St. Louis should dominate, or maybe 4A if Sacred Heart-Griffin is as good as advertised, the 5A class brings a good set of teams from many conferences all over the state that appear fairly evenly matched. It will be fun to see how the different conferences measure up, not just the teams. The Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8-White (Sycamore), Big Twelve (Peoria), Western Big Six (Sterling), Mississippi Valley (Highland), Apollo (Mahomet-Seymour), and Northern Illinois Ten (Boylan) will all be represented from around the state. The Chicago area will be represented by the Catholic League (St. Patrick), the Public League (Morgan Park), the Southland (Kankakee), and the Upstate Eight (Glenbard South). The Upstate Eight is clearly over-matched in 8A. Can it do something in 5A?

Sycamore is my choice to take the 5A title.

ESL's defense will absolutely smother it's 6A opponents who run anything even resembling a spread offense. I don't know if you have a "run straight at 'em" team the likes of last year's Cary Grove in 6A. Probably not, given the state of the FVC thus far this year.

I agree with your assessment of Class 5A. Without one clear dominate team, it may be the most interesting playoff Class. I've been impressed with Sycamore this year, and the result of their week 9 game with Morris will tell us more regarding where they should be placed in the 5A pecking order.

No way would I consider SHG the dominate force in Class 4A. There will be Rochester waiting in the wings to try and "Joliet Catholic" them in either the quarterfinal or the semifinal of the Southern Bracket. That's not even considering the task they will face in the title game should they survive. No way would I pick them over JCA after what the Hilltoppers did to them last year (JCA is still BIG), and I question whether or not they could even handle Richmond Burton's running game. Not seeing these type of running attacks during the regular season always seems to be a detriment to them.

 

[MS4EVER]

The bobby22adamo reply is actually me. This guy got me so flustered, that I logged in on my Edgy burner account accidentally.

When I started coming here back in ‘01 or whatever, I didn’t even have an email address yet. So all this time, Catch-22 has been attached to my sister’s email address. Just wanted to clarify that bit of information. There will be no further clarification of Hansberry however.

Have a blessed day everyone! 😉

I’m pretty sure I say it every year but if not Thanks for all of the hard work Catch. I love this $#!+!

 

[MC63]

Every Monday(-ish), I bracket the 256 playoff teams using the IHSA Playoff Outlook. This is NOT a prediction. These are NOT my opinions. It is simply the most logical way the playoffs would be bracketed, using the IHSA's specific system, if today's standings were the final standings.

Each week I usually have to add/subtract teams to get a true 256. The Outlook doesn't adjust for a conference champion/representative falling below the cutoff. I take care of that before proceeding.

My adjustments.....

The Suburban Prairie East and West Suburban Gold conferences were not represented in the Playoff Outlook. I inserted their conference leaders, Plainfield East (7A) and Downers South (8A) into the playoff field. Every conference champion from conferences with 6 or more teams automatically qualifies for the playoffs. I adjust for that. This gave us 258 teams.

I need to eliminate 2 teams. The cutoff in the Playoff Outlook this week is BELOW .500.... 2-3 with 29 playoff points. Nazareth was the only team in the playoff field at that record, and therefore they were Team 256, the "last team in". FYI, other teams with at 2-3/29 were Bloomington (6A), Bradley-Bourbannais (7A), Wheaton-Warrenville South (7A), and Oak Park (8A). Those teams were the first out, and have good enough playoff points (as of now) to possibly qualify at-large with just 4 wins this year. The next-to-last team to qualify in the Outlook (Team 255) is Marian Central at 2-3/31. Team 254, Buffalo Grove, is also below .500 at 2-3/34.

My adjustments.... I put DGS in 8A. I put Plainfield East in 7A. I take Naz out of 5A. I take Marian Central out of 3A. I'm left with classes of 33-33-32-31-32-31-32-32. I move Andrew down to 7A. I move Quincy and Eisenhower down to 6A. I move Kaneland and Lakes down to 5A. Once again, I move MORRIS down to 4A. Dyett goes down to 3A. 2A and 1A do not change from the Playoff Outlook. Buffalo Grove is now the last team in at 2-3/34, and they are the only team below .500 to qualify.

THAT'S IT!

I'm skipping the biggest/smallest schools in each class again... it's late. Maybe I'll edit them in later.

NOTES:
- Glenbard West and York flipped the top two spots in 8A
- Several teams moved UP a class from last week... Plainfield North, Geneva, Pekin, Yorkville, Simeon, etc... So the smaller enrollment teams in IL won at a better clip last week than the big schools.
- Some pockets of 7A could set up very nicely for a lower-seeded team that is battle tested. Brother Rice is #20 right now, but that quad looks mighty nice for them.
- I won't say that 5A is abysmal. That would be rude. Let's call it uninspiring. That game is definitely staying locked in at 10 AM on 11/26.
- Lemont would get the Flyers in R2 again.
- In 2022, Schurz/Wauconda winner plays Wheeling/Ignatius winner for a spot in the quarters. How would that have sounded in 2012? 2002? 1992?

* is the smallest team in the class
^ is the biggest team in the class

~~~ 8A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#32 Downers South at #1 Glenbard West
#17 Oswego East at #16 Glenbard East
#25 Hinsdale Central at #8 Lane
#24 Naperville Central at #9 Homewood-Flossmoor

#29 Elgin at #4 Loyola
#20 O'Fallon at #13 Minooka
#28 Lockport at #5 Plainfield North
#21 Conant at #12 Edwardsville

Lower Bracket
#31 Rich at #2 York
#18 Neuqua Valley at #15 Huntley
#26 Maine South at #7 Glenbrook South
#23 Bolingbrook at #10 Lyons

#30 Bartlett at #3 Lincoln-Way East
#19 Warren at #14 Naperville North
#27 Belleville East at #6 South Elgin
#22 Marist at #11 Palatine


~~~ 7A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#32 Plainfield East at #1 Mt. Carmel
#17 Lake Zurich at #16 Guilford
#25 Lincoln Park at #8 St. Charles North
#24 Andrew at #9 Prospect

#29 DeKalb at #4 Hononegah
#20 Brother Rice at #13 Moline
#28 Reavis at #5 Pekin
#21 Batavia at #12 Yorkville

Lower Bracket
#31 Buffalo Grove at #2 Elk Grove
#18 Argo at #15 Collinsville
#26 Libertyville at #7 Rolling Meadows
#23 Hoffman Estates at #10 Wheaton North

#30 Highland Park at #3 Hersey
#19 St. Rita at #14 Jacobs
#27 Mundelein at #6 Downers North
#22 Lincoln-Way West at #11 Geneva


~~~ 6A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Schurz at #1 Wauconda
#9 St. Ignatius #8 Wheeling
#13 Grayslake Central at #4 Riverside-Brookfield
#12 Harlem at #5 Prairie Ridge

#15 Von Steuben at #2 Belvidere North
#10 Cary-Grove at #7 Antioch
#14 Amundsen at #3 Notre Dame
#11 Crystal Lake South at #6 Grayslake North

Lower Bracket
#16 Danville at #1 Simeon
#9 Richards at #8 Bremen
#13 Crete-Monee at #4 Normal West
#12 Oak Forest at #5 Perspectives/Leadership

#15 Kenwood at #2 Lemont
#10 East St. Louis at #7 Quincy
#14 Eisenhower at #3 Centennial
#11 Rock Island at #6 Glenwood


~~~ 5A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Westinghouse at #1 Sycamore
#9 Goode #8 Noble/Bulls
#13 Noble/Pritzker at #4 Noble/Speer
#12 Kaneland at #5 Sterling

#15 Lakes at #2 Glenbard South
#10 St. Patrick at #7 Boylan
#14 Payton at #3 Morgan Park
#11 St. Viator at #6 Carmel

Lower Bracket
#16 Marian Catholic at #1 Peoria
#9 Metamora #8 LaSalle-Peru
#13 Marion at #4 Highland
#12 MacArthur at #5 Mount Vernon

#15 Dunlap at #2 Mahomet-Seymour
#10 Ottawa at #7 Kankakee
#14 Hillcrest at #3 Mascoutah
#11 Jacksonville at #6 Centralia


~~~ 4A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Clark at #1 Morris
#9 Providence #8 Rochelle
#13 Marengo at #4 Hyde Park
#12 Geneseo at #5 Wheaton Academy

#15 Agricultural Science at #2 Richmond-Burton
#10 Dt. Laurence at #7 Evergreen Park
#14 Dixon at #3 St. Francis
#11 Coal City at #6 Joliet Catholic

Lower Bracket
#16 Peoria Notre Dame at #1 Carterville
#9 Rochester #8 Murphysboro
#13 Effingham at #4 Columbia
#12 Quincy Notre Dame at #5 Wood River-East Alton

#15 Richland County at #2 Sacred Heart-Griffin
#10 Mount Zion at #7 Breese Central
#14 Normal at #3 Macomb
#11 Freeburg at #6 Waterloo


~~~ 3A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Carver at #1 Princeton
#9 Urban Prep/Bronzeville #8 DePaul
#13 Winnebago at #4 Stillman Valley
#12 King at #5 Immaculate Conception

#15 Peotone at #2 Prairie Central
#10 Montini at #7 Genoa Kingston
#14 Noble/Hansberry at #3 Reed-Custer
#11 Dyett at #6 Byron

Lower Bracket
#16 Robinson at #1 Eureka
#9 Greenville at #8 Tolono Unity
#13 Olympia at #4 Mt. Carmel
#12 St. Joseph-Ogden at #5 Harrisburg

#15 New Berlin at #2 Williamsville
#10 Roxana at #7 Sullivan-Okaw Valley Coop
#14 Roseville at #3 Paxton Buckley-Loda
#11 Monticello at #6 Benton

I noticed that LA is likely to have a long, long drive in the first few weeks.

Also, i want to thank Catch 22 for all his hard work. This is really fascinating stuff.

 

[corey90]

Really? Thats all you got? Lockport won in Wilmette by two touchdowns 😂

Just saying Loyola deserve to travel they have been home the past couple years let’s see how they do traveling. I believe East’s young team last year would of beat LA had they been at home. By the way East was the only team to hang an L on Lockport last year. East will beat Lockport this year by 3 touchdowns. 😂

 

[FballDaddy]

Here’s the thing. Saturday someone asked for a score between mighty Loyola and Fenwick. The response I saw was 27-24 Loyola victory. I also saw two comments based on that score…..wow. Marist might have a shot against Loyola next week and another saying that close score was one of the two biggest surprises of the weekend. I then got wrapped up in college grid on Saturday the nfl on Sunday and found out on Monday afternoon that it was a running clock game with Loyola dominant as expected. That is frustrating.
Now when this past weekend someone said East St. Louis might not give up another point all season I know that’s an opinion. I can agree or debate it. People think Mt. Carmel and Joliet Catholic should play 8A every year and I can agree or debate it. But I count on people on this forum giving opinions and facts. I don’t do well with incorrect information. All I was doing was correcting it so everyone could understand the error. The author brought up the term “blocking” someone online who pointed out the information was incorrect. That in my opinion is a sad commentary on accuracy.

@olderbytheminute you have to chill out. If you think a playoff pairing sheet after 5 weeks is mildly accurate picture of what the final season will be, you have no idea how this all works. There are plenty of teams that started slow or had touch matchups early on and aren't in the list, but will be at the end of the year. And vice versa. It's a fun exercise to talk about potential matchups and which division some teams are falling in. Something to talk about mid-season. This thread isn't a mis-posting of a score or smack talk about a team. Take a pill man.

 

[McEvergreen]

Just saying Loyola deserve to travel they have been home the past couple years let’s see how they do traveling. I believe East’s young team last year would of beat LA had they been at home. By the way East was the only team to hang an L on Lockport last year. East will beat Lockport this year by 3 touchdowns. 😂

How do they "deserve to travel" 🤔. They have no control over which seed wins or loses in their bracket. True, Lockport had the one L last year, but they also have the 2021 8A state championship trophy in their trophy case 😬

 

[ramblinman]

Just saying Loyola deserve to travel they have been home the past couple years let’s see how they do traveling. I believe East’s young team last year would of beat LA had they been at home.

Not counting title games played on a neutral field, you have to go back to 2014 to find an IHSA playoff game in which Loyola lost playing on someone else's home field. Since then, the Ramblers have won nine straight playoff games at another school. Also, LA has gone 2-2 in its last four home playoff games.

Be careful what you wish for.

 

[chakazulu89]

Really? Thats all you got? Lockport won in Wilmette by two touchdowns 😂

And to your yawnnnnn..., The games still need to be played.... Did you pick Lockport to beat Loyola? or Cary Grove to beat ESTL.....

 

[corey90]

Not counting title games played on a neutral field, you have to go back to 2014 to find an IHSA playoff game in which Loyola lost playing on someone else's home field. Since then, the Ramblers have won nine straight playoff games at another school. Also, LA has gone 2-2 in its last four home playoff games.

Be careful what you wish for.

Lol
I would still take a home game. I am not debating wins/loses home or away. I would like to see them play at East for a change. Hey we could be talking out our asses because both teams have to get to that point. Their is a lot of football still before this game can happen.

 

[NapervilleBuck]

Games played in the quarters and semis should be played on a neutral field, especially when you consider how the IHSA doles out home/visitor status after week 2 of the playoffs.

 

[olderbytheminute]

Games played in the quarters and semis should be played on a neutral field, especially when you consider how the IHSA doles out home/visitor status after week 2 of the playoffs.

Actually given the currrnt playoff setup for determining which team is at home in a given round, I m surprised there has not been a push for the team with the better seed (1-16 in a 32-team field or 1-8 in classes with two 16 team fields) to have the choice of playing home or away in week 1. If the 1 seed opts to play on the road in round 1 against a qualifier with a 5-4 or 4-5 record, it would be guaranteed to host a round 2 game and would have a 66.66 percent chance of hosting in round 3 as it’s opponent would have a worse seed and have played either 2 home games 1 home game or 0 home games.

 

[RockSoup]

Actually given the currrnt playoff setup for determining which team is at home in a given round, I m surprised there has not been a push for the team with the better seed (1-16 in a 32-team field or 1-8 in classes with two 16 team fields) to have the choice of playing home or away in week 1. If the 1 seed opts to play on the road in round 1 against a qualifier with a 5-4 or 4-5 record, it would be guaranteed to host a round 2 game and would have a 66.66 percent chance of hosting in round 3 as it’s opponent would have a worse seed and have played either 2 home games 1 home game or 0 home games.

This is the way. It’s mentioned around these parts every year.

Nothing better than going to someone else’s home field and winning in the semifinal. Neutral sites while “fairer” takes some of the luster off those dates with destiny.

Higher seed is a bogus term anyway in the current formula and no formula will be perfect. We all want better non conference games and then say a 9-0 or 8-1 team is better off a cupcake schedule than a 7-2, 6-3 team that plays a grinder of a schedule. Since there’s no perfect system, the best way is for the higher seed to increase their odds of home games later in the playoffs by offering them the opening round option. Heck, if the seeding was correct, then the higher seed would always be home. But seeding is not correct.

 

[MC63]

Games played in the quarters and semis should be played on a neutral field, especially when you consider how the IHSA doles out home/visitor status after week 2 of the playoffs.

I respectfully disagree ... I've enjoyed visiting the campuses of many schools I'd never see otherwise. I enjoy the spirit and dedication of the other team's fans and the spirit of sportsmanship when I'm welcomed to their facility. Many schools go to a lot of trouble to put on a good show -- I love it.

Neutral sites would have neutral buzz and excitement. Plus, I don't want to go to NIU, Champaign or any of those other lifeless pl;aces other than for the championship.

 

[MC63]

Actually given the currrnt playoff setup for determining which team is at home in a given round, I m surprised there has not been a push for the team with the better seed (1-16 in a 32-team field or 1-8 in classes with two 16 team fields) to have the choice of playing home or away in week 1. If the 1 seed opts to play on the road in round 1 against a qualifier with a 5-4 or 4-5 record, it would be guaranteed to host a round 2 game and would have a 66.66 percent chance of hosting in round 3 as it’s opponent would have a worse seed and have played either 2 home games 1 home game or 0 home games.

Wouldn't taking the road game in the first round be a clumsy way of telling the other team that they're a patsy you can beat without much effort?, What an incentive for an upset!

Remember what the ancient Chinese said, "Be careful what you wish for."

 

[McEvergreen]

Wouldn't taking the road game in the first round be a clumsy way of telling the other team that they're a patsy you can beat without much effort?, What an incentive for an upset!

Remember what the ancient Chinese said, "Be careful what you wish for."

If my team was 9-0, I would hands down travel to a 5-4 round 1 as long as it wasn't a CCL 5-4 😂

 

[RockSoup]

Wouldn't taking the road game in the first round be a clumsy way of telling the other team that they're a patsy you can beat without much effort?, What an incentive for an upset!

Remember what the ancient Chinese said, "Be careful what you wish for."

Yes, but the coaches can figure it out. It is an added layer of strategy or a lesson in probabilities. There are 2 decent computer sites that can generate a score between any 2 teams and the later the season gets, the more accurate they become. So if I was in a position that had to make a choice, rule of thumb would have to be: if my team is a perceived 11 point favorite or less, I'm playing at home in the first round. And if my team is a perceived 24 point favorite or more, I'm taking my chances on the road in round 1. The hard decisions would be when you're a perceived 2 TD favorite (12 points) to not exactly a full 4 TD favorite (24 points) and of course the varying levels of concern between 12 and 23. And you'd have to know the general health of both teams and the health of their difference makers since the computer can't guess that until the results come in.

Pairings are announced by 10pm Saturday night. IHSA needs to know your intentions by 3pm Monday. The above info can be gathered in 3 hour tops (perceived difference in teams and a couple phone calls/texts/emails to colleagues gauging the relative health of your opponent. 1/2 hour meetings, first with staff to go over any concerns and then with the administration. Some administrations may like the known 2k profit (or whatever it is) in concessions (state keeps most of the gate but home team gets something, don't know the numbers, somebody does) of a guaranteed game at home vs the maybe of a 5k profit (or whatever it is) possibility of hosting a later round game (more likely larger crowd). After those meetings, email the IHSA with your intent.

Your concern is valid but 'opening round option' is the only way because you can't get a true seeding formula. Even if you had the best tools in the world, the IHSA has some closed conferences where all 9 games are played only vs members of that conference. So any better seeding formula is inherently incomplete. Sorry for the long post.

Pro tip (not for you MC63, your posts are concise, but for the general audience): 90% don't read long posts and nobody reads long posts that do not use the magic of paragraphs.

 

[RockSoup]

If my team was 9-0, I would hands down travel to a 5-4 round 1 as long as it wasn't a CCL 5-4 😂

True. But there are also some Publics that play anyone, anywhere and big strength of schedule differences between the different Public conferences, but yeah, your comment is a decent rule to follow.

 

[RaiderAlum50]

I respectfully disagree ... I've enjoyed visiting the campuses of many schools I'd never see otherwise. I enjoy the spirit and dedication of the other team's fans and the spirit of sportsmanship when I'm welcomed to their facility. Many schools go to a lot of trouble to put on a good show -- I love it.

Neutral sites would have neutral buzz and excitement. Plus, I don't want to go to NIU, Champaign or any of those other lifeless pl;aces other than for the championship.

True, but states like Ohio do it. Although their overall love for high school is different. But you are able to buy ticket passes for the games played at the site so you can go and watch multiple games if you wish. You would be better off using smaller colleges so the stands fill up. Ohio uses the football hall of fame and some larger HS stadiums I believe. And for Southern brackets you can choose a smaller college down that direction. Or larger HS like Edwardsville

 

[NapervilleBuck]

I respectfully disagree ... I've enjoyed visiting the campuses of many schools I'd never see otherwise. I enjoy the spirit and dedication of the other team's fans and the spirit of sportsmanship when I'm welcomed to their facility. Many schools go to a lot of trouble to put on a good show -- I love it.

Neutral sites would have neutral buzz and excitement. Plus, I don't want to go to NIU, Champaign or any of those other lifeless pl;aces other than for the championship.

As a fan I completely agree about the home site atmosphere. That’s what makes high school football as great as it is. That’s what the first two rounds are for. Not the Qs/Semis/Finals.

 

[NapervilleBuck]

True, but states like Ohio do it. Although their overall love for high school is different. But you are able to buy ticket passes for the games played at the site so you can go and watch multiple games if you wish. You would be better off using smaller colleges so the stands fill up. Ohio uses the football hall of fame and some larger HS stadiums I believe. And for Southern brackets you can choose a smaller college down that direction. Or larger HS like Edwardsville

Ohio also uses a computer ranking to set the playoff bracket. By the time each team has played their 10-game regular season the computers have enough data to be fairly certain the more powerful teams are identified and given the higher seeds.

Here are the rankings:
http://www.joeeitel.com/hsfoot/
Each region is played first and then the regional champs meet in the semi’s.

 

[Cross Bones]

Every time I see computer rankings I 🤮
Now I'm sitting here looking like the Olson twins

 

[RockSoup]

Ohio also uses a computer ranking to set the playoff bracket. By the time each team has played their 10-game regular season the computers have enough data to be fairly certain the more powerful teams are identified and given the higher seeds.

Here are the rankings:
http://www.joeeitel.com/hsfoot/
Each region is played first and then the regional champs meet in the semi’s.

😂 on the regions. If there is belly achin now, live in a regional playoff world.

The lower classes were excited to go to 1-32 to get away from quads and north/south delineation until gas prices stopped the change. Oh, sorry quads aren’t good, now it’s better that we called them regions. Never a true state final. And computer rankings, how many closed conferences in Ohio? How many in Illinois? I don’t know the answer. But if the answer is one or more like Illinois, computer rankings are moot.