That playoff division is gonna be great for football.
ONLY if they figure out a viable way of selecting the teams. And that is very much in doubt. The official statement is that it is the top 8 teams in the maxpreps computer. But, they said that last year too, and instead had some secretly modified program that did not at all jive with the maxprep computer ratings. The list of the 8 teams that would've qualified last year is embarrasingly bad. And it's totally unclear as to whether any meaningful difference will be seen this year.
Here is the top 8 at the conclusion of last season:
1 Buchholz (Gainesville, FL) 1 25.988 12.90 12-1-0 6A R1 D3
2 Northwestern (Miami, FL) 1 24.802 7.89 12-0-0 3A R4 D16
3 Vero Beach (Vero Beach, FL) 1 24.644 7.81 13-0-0 7A R3 D11
4 Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota, FL) 1 24.506 9.68 12-1-0 2A R3 D9
5 DeLand (DeLand, FL) 2 23.294 9.37 12-1-0 7A R1 D2
6 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, FL) 1 23.226 12.24 10-2-0 1A R4 D14
7 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL) 1 23.165 9.16 12-1-0 5A R4 D15
8 Raines (Jacksonville, FL)
Quote from: DreadnaughtAlum on Jun 09, 2026, 05:58 PMHere is the top 8 at the conclusion of last season:
1 Buchholz (Gainesville, FL) 1 25.988 12.90 12-1-0 6A R1 D3
2 Northwestern (Miami, FL) 1 24.802 7.89 12-0-0 3A R4 D16
3 Vero Beach (Vero Beach, FL) 1 24.644 7.81 13-0-0 7A R3 D11
4 Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota, FL) 1 24.506 9.68 12-1-0 2A R3 D9
5 DeLand (DeLand, FL) 2 23.294 9.37 12-1-0 7A R1 D2
6 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, FL) 1 23.226 12.24 10-2-0 1A R4 D14
7 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL) 1 23.165 9.16 12-1-0 5A R4 D15
8 Raines (Jacksonville, FL)
Teams would actually go out and challenge themselves before their Divisional schedule.
Unless you use the comp poll it's a worthless ranking. NEVER use just computers!!
It's gonna make it where one bracket is great, and the rest are insignificant. Maybe the 2nd best one might be somewhat interesting. But now you are gonna have teams with no business making and sometimes winning titles. But the only reason they will be able to is because the best team or teams were removed from their class.
And I think teams are gonna schedule worse because they want to avoid the open bracket. That's what Venice did. They scheduled the worst team in the state ranked in the 500's in the state rankings so their SOS will keep them out of it.
Quote from: Nolebull813 on Jun 10, 2026, 06:39 AMIt's gonna make it where one bracket is great, and the rest are insignificant. Maybe the 2nd best one might be somewhat interesting. But now you are gonna have teams with no business making and sometimes winning titles. But the only reason they will be able to is because the best team or teams were removed from their class.
And I think teams are gonna schedule worse because they want to avoid the open bracket. That's what Venice did. They scheduled the worst team in the state ranked in the 500's in the state rankings so their SOS will keep them out of it.
The best teams that want to be in the open will schedule better. The teams that don't care about winning the open, will schedule like Curtis.
Quote from: Steeler01 on Jun 09, 2026, 09:07 PMTeams would actually go out and challenge themselves before their Divisional schedule.
There are reasons for significant concern that this will actually happen as it should. The most recently used model- over the course of several seasons- did not accurately gauge strength of schedule. STA went out and played Mater Dei, Chaminade and American Heritage and still wound up ranked worse than the likes of Deland, Vero Beach etc.
Quote from: Nolebull813 on Jun 10, 2026, 06:39 AMIt's gonna make it where one bracket is great, and the rest are insignificant. Maybe the 2nd best one might be somewhat interesting. But now you are gonna have teams with no business making and sometimes winning titles. But the only reason they will be able to is because the best team or teams were removed from their class.
And I think teams are gonna schedule worse because they want to avoid the open bracket. That's what Venice did. They scheduled the worst team in the state ranked in the 500's in the state rankings so their SOS will keep them out of it.
Venice is not the example here. Peacock wants in the top 8. And he has them playing two difficult road games this season, which they've never had before.
There's no reason to have confidence that the rankings actually used will plausibly assess SOS. See STA's "strength" rating for last season, and compare it to the others.
NOBODY knows what it means to "schedule better" within the context of getting a high rating in the FHSAA rankings. We THINK we know. But, we are giving way too much respect to the FHSAA in assuming they'll have a reasonably viable way to evaluate SOS.
Quote from: DreadnaughtAlum on Jun 10, 2026, 08:05 AMNOBODY knows what it means to "schedule better" within the context of getting a high rating in the FHSAA rankings. We THINK we know. But, we are giving way too much respect to the FHSAA in assuming they'll have a reasonably viable way to evaluate SOS.
The issue with their schedule is the rankings are based on an average, not a couple of opponents.
Quote from: Omaha Vol on Jun 09, 2026, 11:53 PMUnless you use the comp Redzone Top 2 poll it's a worthless ranking. NEVER use just computers!!
FIFY.Gotta use the OG of football polls.
Quote from: Steeler01 on Jun 10, 2026, 08:15 AMThe issue with their schedule is the rankings are based on an average, not a couple of opponents.
Whatever the explanation, any system that has Deland's schedule as stronger than STA's is broken.
Quote from: Cossacks on Jun 10, 2026, 10:03 AMFIFY.Gotta use the OG of football polls.
😺 Bingo