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Playoff Bracket · 8-Man Football UNOFFICIAL

Ewert projection through week 1Ewert’s picks: week 9 ratings, 10/22/26, 5:39 AM CentralField table · How it works

Bracket and table computed Thu, Oct 22 · 10:19 AM CDT

Full boardRegion ARegion BRegion CRegion DFinal fourEwert’s picks: dashed, italic slots are our prediction model’s guess at who advances. ES percentages label our picked winners. These are guesses; confirmed results take precedence.

Green scores or Final/Award labels mark confirmed advancement. Dashed slots are imagined participants. Held, conflicting or incomplete results remain unresolved.

Unresolved ties: Belmont and Gilman and Highland and Owen-Withee and Sevastopol and Valley Christian (Oshkosh) (rank 1, seed #1); Alma Center Lincoln and Assumption and Athens and Bruce and Clear Lake and Elcho/White Lake and Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah and Frederic and Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran/Providence Academy (Green Bay) and Hurley and Lake Holcombe and Mellen and North Crawford and Palmyra-Eagle and Port Edwards and Rib Lake and Siren and Suring and Thorp and Three Lakes/Phelps and Wabeno/Laona and Wild Rose and Wonewoc-Center (rank 7, seed #2); Almond-Bancroft and Chequamegon and Cornell and De Soto and Flambeau and Florence and Gibraltar and Lena/Saint Thomas Aquinas and Luck and New Auburn and Newman Catholic and Niagara and Northwood/Solon Springs and Oakfield and Oneida Nation and Pembine/Goodman and Prentice and Princeton/Green Lake and Tri-County and Turtle Lake and Washburn and Wausaukee and Wayland Academy and Williams Bay and Winter/Birchwood (rank 30, seed #8). Tied at rank 1, across the #1/#2 seed line: placement waits for WIAA's tie-break (Tier 3, then its own procedure). Their slots are left empty.

1 tie unresolved8 tie unresolved2 tie unresolvedTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD1 tie unresolved8 tie unresolved2 tie unresolvedTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD1 tie unresolved8 tie unresolved2 tie unresolvedTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD1 tie unresolved8 tie unresolved2 tie unresolvedTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDState semifinalTBDTBDState semifinalTBDTBDState finalRegion ARegion BRegion CRegion D

Team labels open team pages. Hover or focus a team to trace its path.

WIAA has released its bracket for this field. See the official bracket →

8-man football · Week 1 field and cut line

Table-only view →

The table uses reported results through Week 1. Projected Final shows our latest forecast, based on reported Week 8 results plus the remaining ES picks; arrows compare it with this table. This is today’s forecast, not a saved forecast from Week 1. UNOFFICIAL · partial: unresolved games or opponent data can change these placements.

No future qualifying games remain. This is a comparison of the current qualifying results, not a new forecast; unresolved results or opponent data still affect the comparison.

RankTeamCityW-LTotalTier 1 AVGTier 2 AVGTier 2 WinsProjected SeedProjected Final Seed
Rank · Seed · Partial
1TBelmont checkBelmont3.30#11 – · 1-C
1TGilman checkGilman3.30#12 ▼1 · 1-B
1THighland checkHighland3.30#138 ▼37 · Out projected out
1TOwen-Withee checkOwen3.30#110 ▼9 · 3-A
1TSevastopol checkSturgeon Bay3.30#19 ▼8 · 3-D
1TValley Christian (Oshkosh) checkOshkosh3.30#13 ▼2 · 1-A
7TAlma Center Lincoln checkAlma Center3.00#233 ▼26 · Out projected out
7TAssumption checkWisconsin Rapids3.00#27 – · 2-A
7TAthens checkAthens3.00#221 ▼14 · 6-B
7TBruce checkBruce3.00#225 ▼18 · 7-B
7TClear Lake checkClear Lake3.00#213 ▼6 · 4-C
7TElcho/White Lake check3.00#243 ▼36 · Out projected out
7TElkhart Lake-Glenbeulah checkElkhart Lake3.00#228 ▼21 · 7-D
7TFrederic checkFrederic3.00#230 ▼23 · 8-B
7TGreen Bay N.E.W. Lutheran/Providence Academy (Green Bay) check3.00#229 ▼22 · 8-A
7THurley checkHurley3.00#25 ▲2 · 2-B
7TLake Holcombe checkHolcombe3.00#227 ▼20 · 7-A
7TMellen checkMellen3.00#239 ▼32 · Out projected out
7TNorth Crawford checkSoldiers Grove3.00#211 ▼4 · 3-C
7TPalmyra-Eagle checkPalmyra3.00#214 ▼7 · 4-A
7TPort Edwards checkPort Edwards3.00#222 ▼15 · 6-A
7TRib Lake checkRib Lake3.00#219 ▼12 · 5-D
7TSiren checkSiren3.00#241 ▼34 · Out projected out
7TSuring checkSuring3.00#26 ▲1 · 2-D
7TThorp checkThorp3.00#226 ▼19 · 7-C
7TThree Lakes/Phelps check3.00#231 ▼24 · 8-D
7TWabeno/Laona check3.00#24 ▲3 · 1-D
7TWild Rose checkWild Rose3.00#232 ▼25 · 8-C
7TWonewoc-Center checkWonewoc3.00#250T ▼43 · Out projected out
30TAlmond-Bancroft checkAlmond0.00#818 ▲12 · 5-A
30TChequamegon checkPark Falls0.00#842 ▼12 · Out projected out
30TCornell checkCornell0.00#845 ▼15 · Out projected out
30TDe Soto checkDe Soto0.00#88 ▲22 · 2-C
30TFlambeau checkTony0.00#816 ▲14 · 4-B
30TFlorence checkFlorence0.00#850T ▼20 · Out projected out
30TGibraltar checkFish Creek0.00#850T ▼20 · Out projected out
30TLena/Saint Thomas Aquinas check0.00#820 ▲10 · 5-B
30TLuck checkLuck0.00#846T ▼16 · Out projected out
30TNew Auburn checkNew Auburn0.00#834 ▼4 · Out projected out
30TNewman Catholic checkWausau0.00#848 ▼18 · Out projected out
30TNiagara checkNiagara0.00#824 ▲6 · 6-D
30TNorthwood/Solon Springs check0.00#815 ▲15 · 4-D
30TOakfield checkOakfield0.00#823 ▲7 · 6-C
30TOneida Nation checkOneida0.00#854 ▼24 · Out projected out
30TPembine/Goodman check0.00#840 ▼10 · Out projected out
30TPrentice checkPrentice0.00#846T ▼16 · Out projected out
30TPrinceton/Green Lake check0.00#844 ▼14 · Out projected out
30TTri-County checkPlainfield0.00#817 ▲13 · 5-C
30TTurtle Lake checkTurtle Lake0.00#812 ▲18 · 3-B
30TWashburn checkWashburn0.00#835 ▼5 · Out projected out
30TWausaukee checkWausaukee0.00#836 ▼6 · Out projected out
30TWayland Academy checkBeaver Dam0.00#849 ▼19 · Out projected out
30TWilliams Bay checkWilliams Bay0.00#837 ▼7 · Out projected out
30TWinter/Birchwood check0.00#850T ▼20 · Out projected out
Cut line · the top 32 qualify
—Iola-Scandinavia checkIola3.30ExcludedExcluded
—Abundant Life Christian/Saint Ambrose check3-year enrollment average 2893.00ExcludedExcluded
—Algoma check3-year enrollment average 220Algoma3.00ExcludedExcluded
—Marion/Tigerton check3-year enrollment average 2113.00ExcludedExcluded
—Shell Lake check3-year enrollment average 204Shell Lake3.00ExcludedExcluded
—Bowler/Gresham check0.00ExcludedExcluded
—Clayton/Prairie Farm check3-year enrollment average 2110.00ExcludedExcluded
—Gillett checkGillett0.00ExcludedExcluded
—Kickapoo/La Farge check3-year enrollment average 2290.00ExcludedExcluded
—Menominee Nation check3-year enrollment average 368Keshena0.00ExcludedExcluded
—Montello check3-year enrollment average 216Montello0.00ExcludedExcluded
—Monticello checkMonticello0.00ExcludedExcluded
—Phillips check3-year enrollment average 201Phillips0.00ExcludedExcluded
—Rosholt checkRosholt0.00ExcludedExcluded
—South Shore checkPort Wing0.00ExcludedExcluded
—St. John's Northwestern check3-year enrollment average 350Delafield0.00ExcludedExcluded
—Wisconsin Heights check3-year enrollment average 229Mazomanie0.00ExcludedExcluded

Ewert’s picks are guesses. Hypothetical playoff winners use the current ES model and rated snapshots, not seeds. Early rounds assume the higher seed hosts; state semifinals and final assume a neutral site. No new games, results or forecasts are saved. ES basis: week 9, 10/22/26, 5:39 AM Central. Missing or near-even inputs remain TBD.

Wisconsin programs continue below the cut line in the same table. Eligibility notes use the published WIAA record; where it does not identify the reason, we say so. A three-year enrollment average above 200 can have a second-year commitment exception.

About this projection

Unofficial projection. Seeds come from the unofficial playoff matrix above (WIAA’s formula on the results we hold, 2026 regulations). Regions and Level 1 pairings follow the regulations’ travel rules with an approximation: straight-line miles between school ZIP centroids instead of WIAA’s travel distances, so a region letter or a pairing near the margin can differ. Slots: projected from the unofficial matrix; not WIAA's published bracket. Through week 1 (games through Saturday 2026-08-22). 54 of 54 in the field, 0 placed (54 waiting on a tie-break).

How WIAA builds the bracket, and how to check a team

  1. Tier 1 points. Every win earns points set by the team you beat: 3.0 for an 8-player school, 3.3 for one whose three-year enrollment average is over 200. A tie earns half. A loss earns nothing. A forfeit win earns the full value. Tier 1 AVG = Tier 1 points ÷ games played (at most 8).
  2. Tier 2 points. Add up their Tier 1 points for every team you beat (a team you tied is not beaten and adds no points). Opponents’ games = the games played by every team you played, won, lost or tied, added together (each counted up to 8). Tier 2 AVG = Tier 2 points ÷ opponents’ games, and the Tier 2 score is 8 × Tier 2 AVG. WIAA’s rule: “Divide Tier 2 points by opponents’ games played and multiply by 8 (this is a 100% bonus to the Strength of Victory) to get the Tier 2 score.”
  3. Total (PQS) = Tier 1 AVG + 8 × Tier 2 AVG. WIAA’s own example: Franklin 2024, 56.0 ÷ 9 + 228.5 ÷ 81 × 9 = 31.61. Ties in Total are broken by Tier 3, the average of the Tier 2 scores of the teams you beat.
  4. Replacement games. If a team replaced a forfeit win with a new game that week, the forfeit counts when the replacement was lost; when it was won, whichever is worth more counts (regulations 3h). WIAA prints such games as “Seeding Only”. When you beat a team in its replacement game, your Tier 2 points count that team’s Tier 1 points without the forfeit win it kept that week.
  5. Field and seeds. Teams are ranked inside their division by Total. The top 32 qualify after Week 8. Ranks 1–4 are the #1 seeds, 5–8 the #2 seeds, and so on to #8. The four #1 seeds anchor four regions: the #1- and #4-ranked go to one half of the state bracket, #2 and #3 to the other. #2 seeds join the nearest #1 seed, #3 and #4 seeds their likely second-round opponents, and #5–#8 are placed by the shortest total travel. Level 1 is #8 at #1, #5 at #4, #7 at #2 and #6 at #3 in each region.

Worked example: Belmont (rank 1T, seed 1)

DateOpponentResultOpponent’s valueTier 1 earnedOpp. Tier 1 pointsOpp. gamesCounts?
2026-08-20Kickapoo/La FargeW3.33.300.001yes

Tier 1 AVG = 3.30 ÷ 1 = 3.300. Tier 2 points = 0.00 = 0.00; opponents’ games = 1 = 1; Tier 2 AVG = 0.00 ÷ 1 = 0.000. Total = 3.300 + 8 × 0.000 = 3.30.

To check another team’s numbers, open its row’s “check” link in the tables above. Team labels in the bracket open team pages.

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