Missouri High School football playoffs 2012 and beyond: Everybody's In!

Three years ago, Missouri (MSHSAA) decided to experiment with a playoff format like that in Kansas: Two teams from each district make the playoffs. Before then, only the district champs made the playoffs.

Apparently, the higher-ups were convinced even allowing half or more of the teams in a class wasn't enough. In 2012, EVERYONE will make the playoffs. The regular season will be reduced to nine weeks. It looks like "districts" will be just geographic clusters used to make the playoff bracket. I don't think anyone assigned to these districts will be mandated to play any of the others in the regular season.

Link here (also includes a link to a download of a sample Class 1 bracket): http://blogs.news-leader.com/hssports/2011/04/06/new-state-football-playoffs-to-begin-in-12-everyones-in/

Awesome or stupid?

 

The state of Indiana sees no problem with this.

 

Will everyone get a medal?

 

How many rounds of playoffs is that?

In Illinois the regular season is nine weeks, and 32 teams from all eight classes make it. State finalists then play 14 weeks. It works very well, I think. The MO plan sounds absolutely horrible.

 

This is basically what the other sports do. It also takes tiebreakers out of the equation.

 

It looks like from that Class 1 sample bracket, six rounds. The first round replaces the 10th week of the regular season. Class 6 will have a 32-team bracket. I think Classes 4, 3 and on down will have 64-team brackets. Class 5 always has an odd number, if I recall correctly, so there will be first-round byes.

Missouri always plays its 11-man championships on the same weekend, so the larger classes will have short weeks in between their rounds. Class 6 will probably play on five consecutive Fridays/Saturdays. The larger classes will have to go Friday, Wednesday, Monday, then three straight Friday/Saturdays. Getting to the quarterfinals will mean a team has to win three games in 11 days. The quarterfinal game itself will be the fourth game in 15 or 16 days, depending if it's played on a Friday or Saturday.

 

I will take this over what it was in Missouri when I was in high school.

We had two football teams go 9-1 and 8-2 and not make the playoffs. One other year, we go 5-5 and make it. All because you had to win the last three games.

 

And outside of St. Louis and Kansas City, there will be a total of five D-I prospects playing in these games.

 

I have no problem with everyone making the playoffs. It reduces the impact of injuries at the start of the season.

From what I hear, though, the Indiana system is not the way to do things.

 

It's not...a blind draw for the playoffs is stupid. Undefeated teams have to play in the 1st round and a winless team could get a first-round bye. Stupid. Just stupid.
Michigan allows 256 in (8 state champs) which is comprised of all auto-qualified 6-3/5-3 teams and uses a points system to determine the teams that went 5-4, along with making the "seedings" for who gets home games.

 

Why not? Seemed to work fine from what I remember. You might get the occasional early-tournament matchup of two favorites, but by the championship game it's usually two of the best teams in the class left standing.