If the NEW PROPOSAL PLAYOFF SYSTEM with 384 teams started today...

[Catch--22]

~~~ 8A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#33 Plainfield East at #32 Oak Park
------------------------------ Winner plays at #1 Notre Dame
#48 Waubonsie Valley at #17 Loyola
------------------------------ Winner plays at #16 Neuqua Valley
#40 Glenbrook South at #25 Maine South
------------------------------ Winner plays at #8 Glenbard West
#41 Naperville North at #24 Plainfield North
------------------------------ Winner plays at #9 Conant

# 36 Naperville Central at #29 O'Fallon
------------------------------ Winner plays at #4 Lincoln-Way East
#45 Elgin at #20 Edwardsville
------------------------------ Winner plays at #13 Huntley
#37 Lockport at #28 Stevenson
------------------------------ Winner plays at #5 South Elgin
#44 Lake Park at #21 Barrington
------------------------------ Winner plays at #12 St. Charles East

Lower Bracket
#34 Plainfield South at #31 Lyons
------------------------------ Winner plays at #2 Minooka
#47 Zion-Benton at #18 Fremd
------------------------------ Winner plays at #15 Bartlett
#39 West Aurora at #26 Marist
------------------------------ Winner plays at #7 Hinsdale Central
#42 East Aurora at #23 Oswego East
------------------------------ Winner plays at #10 Homewood-Flossmoor

#35 Downers Grove South at #30 Curie
------------------------------ Winner plays at #3 Oswego
#46 Bloom at #19 Brother Rice
------------------------------ Winner plays at #14 Glenbard East
#38 Sandburg at #27 York
------------------------------ Winner plays at #6 Warren
#43 New Trier at #22 Taft
------------------------------ Winner plays at #11 Bolingbrook

~~~ 7A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#33 Jacobs at #32 McHenry
------------------------------ Winner plays at #1 Mount Carmel
#48 Elk Grove at #17 St. Charles North
------------------------------ Winner plays at #16 Lincoln-Way West
#40 Belleville West at #25 Proviso East
------------------------------ Winner plays at #8 Phillips
#41 Streamwood at #24 Eisenhower
------------------------------ Winner plays at #9 Andrew

# 36 TF South at #29 Pekin
------------------------------ Winner plays at #4 Rolling Meadows
#45 Mundelein at #20 Harlem
------------------------------ Winner plays at #13 Grant
#37 Glenbrook North at #28 Buffalo Grove
------------------------------ Winner plays at #5 Nazareth
#44 Granite City at #21 Auburn
------------------------------ Winner plays at #12 Maine West

Lower Bracket
#34 Highland Park at #31 Alton
------------------------------ Winner plays at #2 Benet Academy
#47 Libertyville at #18 DeKalb
------------------------------ Winner plays at #15 Moline
#39 Wheaton North at #26 Glenbard North
------------------------------ Winner plays at #7 Prospect
#42 Schaumburg at #23 Wheaton-Warrenville South
------------------------------ Winner plays at #10 Normal

#35 Downers Grove North at #30 Lincoln Park
------------------------------ Winner plays at #3 Hersey
#46 Niles North at #19 Hononegah
------------------------------ Winner plays at #14 Hoffman Estates
#38 Bradley-Bourbonnais at #27 Whitney Young
------------------------------ Winner plays at #6 Batavia
#43 Rockford East at #22 Lake Zurich
------------------------------ Winner plays at #11 Willowbrook​

 

[Catch--22]

~~~ 6A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#17 St. Ignatius at #16 Lake Forest
------------------------------ Winner plays at #1 Belvidere North
#24 Schurz at #9 Deerfield
------------------------------ Winner plays at #8 Mather
#20 Fenton at #13 Hubbard
------------------------------ Winner plays at #4 Riverside-Brookfield
#21 Jefferson at #12 Von Steuben
------------------------------ Winner plays at #5 Antioch

#18 Wauconda at #15 Crystal Lake South
------------------------------ Winner plays at #2 Prairie Ridge
#23 Lake View at #10 Lakes
------------------------------ Winner plays at #7 Kenwood
#19 St. Patrick at #14 Crystal Lake Central
------------------------------ Winner plays at #3 Cary-Grove
#22 Grayslake North at #11 Vernon Hills
------------------------------ Winner plays at #6 Kaneland

Lower Bracket
#17 Perspectives/Leadership at #16 Danville
------------------------------ Winner plays at #1 Glenwood
#24 Oak Lawn at #9 Springfield
------------------------------ Winner plays at #8 Richards
#20 Bloomington at #13 Simeon
------------------------------ Winner plays at #4 Lemont
#21 Hinsdale South at #12 Providence
------------------------------ Winner plays at #5 Shepard

#18 Washington at #15 Thornton
------------------------------ Winner plays at #2 Yorkville
#23 TF North at #10 Bremen
------------------------------ Winner plays at #7 Peoria
#19 Rock Island at #14 Quincy
------------------------------ Winner plays at #3 Crete-Monee
#22 Reavis at #11 Normal West
------------------------------ Winner plays at #6 Thornwood​

 

[Catch--22]

~~~ 5A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#17 Evergreen Park at #16 Solorio Academy
------------------------------ Winner plays at #1 Sterling
#24 Westinghouse at #9 Marmion
------------------------------ Winner plays at #8 St. Viator
#20 Morgan Park at #13 St. Laurence
------------------------------ Winner plays at #4 Sycamore
#21 CVS at #12 St. Rita
------------------------------ Winner plays at #5 Amundson

#18 Burlington Central at #15 Fenwick
------------------------------ Winner plays at #2 Boylan Catholic
#23 Goode at #10 Elmwood Park
------------------------------ Winner plays at #7 Montini
#19 Freeport at #14 De La Salle
------------------------------ Winner plays at #3 Payton
#22 Back of the Yards at #11 Woodstock North
------------------------------ Winner plays at #6 Glenbard South

Lower Bracket

#17 Matamora at #16 Dec MacArthur
------------------------------ Winner plays at #1 East St. Louis
#24 Brooks at #9 Morris
------------------------------ Winner plays at #8 Carbondale
#20 Mascoutah at #13 Highland
------------------------------ Winner plays at #4 Hillcrest
#21 Champaign Central at #12 Marian Catholic
------------------------------ Winner plays at #5 LaSalle-Peru

#18 Sacred Heart-Griffin at #15 Joliet Catholic
------------------------------ Winner plays at #2 Triad
#23 Tinley Park at #10 Morton
------------------------------ Winner plays at #7 Kankakee
#19 Jacksonville at #14 Rich Central
------------------------------ Winner plays at #3 Marion
#22 Jersey at #11 Cahokia
------------------------------ Winner plays at #6 Dunlap

 

[Catch--22]

I wanted to slot some names into the brackets, instead of talking about anonymous hypotheticals.

I used the current playoff outlook, which was built to provide 256 qualifiers rather than 384 qualifiers. I simply took the top 48 in each class. Therefore, some 1-5 teams are in ahead of 2-4 teams. But I just wanted to provide a quick glimpse of the proposed system. I don't have the time or capability to provide a true 384.

I was afraid to wait until Monday or week 8 because the IHSA usually starts pulling eliminated teams out of the playoff outlook in those weeks. I'm not sure I'll have 384 teams in a list to work with. But if enough teams are in the outlook, I'll do it again.

Just like we do now, I seeded 8A and 7A straight 1-48, but split 6A and 5A into halves geographically.

I don't know what "Success Points" are, as referred to in the proposal. The first line under "STRUCTURE" states that success points determine playoff qualifiers. Obviously, I'm using a structure based on current playoff points.

I've seen, many times, the opinion that teams under .500 shouldn't make the playoffs. When you put the next 128 schools into the brackets, you realize that "teams under .500" sounds a lot worse than Naper Central, Naper North, New Trier, Downers North, Downers South, Bradley-Bourb, Wheaton North, Schaumburg, Sandburg, Hinsdale South, St. Pat's, Crystal Lake South, Evergreen Park, and Sacred Heart-Griffin.

Some distinguished programs with proud histories still wouldn't qualify, including Evanston, Palatine, Lane, Lincoln-Way Central, Geneva, Oak Forest, Rochelle, Carmel, Pontiac, and Herscher.

Week 9 Non-Qualifier Games scheduled by the IHSA? How about Palatine v Lincoln-Way Central, Leyden v Evanston, Morton v Niles West, Metea Valley v Joliet West, Dundee-Crown v Waukegan, Addison Trail v Geneva, Romeoville v Proviso West, Maine East v Argo, Wheeling v Hampshire, Carmel v Woodstock... Those matchups would be new and interesting, and a great opportunity to close with a win for every single team involved.

Travel could be a bit more problematic, especially when a first-round team knows where it's headed next with a win. 17 Perspectives @ 16 Danville, winner goes to Glenwood. Shock them, and maybe heading to Springfield next. Daunting for some CPS programs.

I LOVE the thought of the bye team sitting in the stands, watching their "play-in" game. Imagine the Neuqua guys, travelling to Loyola to watch the Ramblers take on Waubonsie. Which side do they sit on? Who are they rooting for... the juggernaut or their bitter rival? Most likely, coach tells them they aren't allowed to go. At least, that's how punks like us were treated at Holy Cross back in the day.

Congrats on the undefeated season Troy Triad! You get the winner of Sacred Heart-Griffin and Joliet Catholic. Good luck Knights!

So here it is... a glimpse at October 29, 2021. I must admit, I like the whole thing more than I thought I would.

 

[Leggo24]

Did you take an aderall

 

[RockSoup]

Beautiful work Catch! Now take your wife back on vacation before you start building the 512 team playoff outlook

 

[mchsalumni]

@Catch--22 bringing the heat.

 

[LakeCtyNewt]

Just awesome.

 

[Marica_rivals226105]

Why they need to use playoff points as much as wins if not more. Or else quality teams still won't be scheduling grueling schedules because 5-4 will get you an extra game to play.
I'm not very familiar with Amundson football but them being seated 5th and Rita 12th to which requires an extra game played makes sense even if Rita finished 4-5?
Saw a 4-5 Rita team play a high wins public school in Taft last year, Rita was up 28-0 in the first quarter.

 

[Catch--22]

That’s always going to be an issue, but there isn’t a better way to seed the teams. The 8 and 9 win CPS teams will have an inflated seed. I don’t think a coaches vote (like basketball) is feasible. How would a coach in the west burbs know where to rank Belleville or Carbondale?

When I was helping out at Elmwood Park, we made the playoffs from the mighty Metro Suburban conference, beating teams like Fenton, Ridgewood, Carver, and Guerin. We were 7-2 and seeded 5th. We hosted a 5-4 Joliet Catholic team, seeded 12th, that played Providence, Marist, Naz, Benet, and ND. They had Ty Isaac, Mike Ivlow, and Tyler Reitz. They squeaked out an upset, 58-0.

 

[Alexander33]

That’s always going to be an issue, but there isn’t a better way to seed the teams. The 8 and 9 win CPS teams will have an inflated seed. I don’t think a coaches vote (like basketball) is feasible. How would a coach in the west burbs know where to rank Belleville or Carbondale?

When I was helping out at Elmwood Park, we made the playoffs from the mighty Metro Suburban conference, beating teams like Fenton, Ridgewood, Carver, and Guerin. We were 7-2 and seeded 5th. We hosted a 5-4 Joliet Catholic team, seeded 12th, that played Providence, Marist, Naz, Benet, and ND. They had Ty Isaac, Mike Ivlow, and Tyler Reitz. They squeaked out an upset, 58-0.

You say "there isn't a better way to seed the teams." I would agree there isn't a more acceptable way to seed the teams, as far as what the various stakeholders are willing to accept. But clearly there is a better way if, as with basketball, one wants to seed the teams in accordance with team strength. Using any one of the several computer rating systems (Freeman, Massey, Wilson) would do a much better job of seeding the teams. The lack of transparency makes these systems unacceptable, but they would do a much better job of accurately determining team strength.