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Playoff Bracket · Football Division 1 OFFICIAL

WIAA official bracket, released October 17, 2026Next: Level 1, Fri, Oct 23 · 7 PMEwert’s picks: week 9 ratings, 10/20/26, 11:54 PM CentralField table · How it works

Bracket and table computed Wed, Oct 21 · 12:37 PM 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.

ES pick: West De Pere, 93.2% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.1 West De PereES 93%8 KimberlyES pick: Milwaukee Reagan, 79.7% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.4 Milwaukee Re…ES 80%5 Milwaukee Pulaski/Car…ES pick: Hudson, 66.5% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.3 HudsonES 66%6 Chippewa FallsES pick: Verona, 80.0% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.2 VeronaES 80%7 Sun Prairie EastES pick: West De Pere, 99.7% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.1 West De PereES 100%4 Milwaukee ReaganES pick: Hudson, 51.2% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.3 HudsonES 51%2 VeronaES pick: West De Pere, 84.0% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.1 West De PereES 84%3 HudsonES pick: Muskego, 100.0% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.1 MuskegoES 100%8 Milwaukee Hamilton/Au…4 Kenosha BradfordES pick: Franklin, 71.2% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.5 FranklinES 71%ES pick: Indian Trail High School & Academy, 91.8% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.3 Indian Trail…ES 92%6 Milwaukee Bradley Tec…ES pick: Racine Case, 99.8% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.2 Racine CaseES 100%7 Milwaukee Riverside/G…ES pick: Muskego, 85.2% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.1 MuskegoES 85%5 Franklin3 Indian Trail & Acad.ES pick: Racine Case, 96.4% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.2 Racine CaseES 96%ES pick: Muskego, 86.9% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.1 MuskegoES 87%2 Racine CaseES pick: Hamilton, 99.2% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.1 HamiltonES 99%8 Janesville ParkerES pick: Marquette, 89.7% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.4 MarquetteES 90%5 Madison MemorialES pick: Oconomowoc, 94.1% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.3 OconomowocES 94%6 MiddletonES pick: Arrowhead, 99.5% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.2 ArrowheadES 99%7 Oshkosh WestES pick: Hamilton, 88.6% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.1 HamiltonES 89%4 Marquette3 OconomowocES pick: Arrowhead, 86.0% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.2 ArrowheadES 86%1 HamiltonES pick: Arrowhead, 57.7% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.2 ArrowheadES 58%ES pick: Bay Port, 99.1% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.1 Bay PortES 99%8 Wausau WestES pick: Neenah, 64.6% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.4 NeenahES 65%5 De PereES pick: Stevens Point Area Senior High, 77.0% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.3 Stevens Poin…ES 77%6 Appleton NorthES pick: Waunakee, 97.9% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.2 WaunakeeES 98%7 D.C. EverestES pick: Bay Port, 90.2% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.1 Bay PortES 90%4 Neenah3 Stevens Point Area Se…ES pick: Waunakee, 89.2% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.2 WaunakeeES 89%ES pick: Bay Port, 62.2% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: higher-seed home.1 Bay PortES 62%2 Waunakee1 West De PereES pick: Muskego, 74.0% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: neutral.1 MuskegoES 74%State semifinalES pick: Arrowhead, 65.2% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: neutral.2 ArrowheadES 65%1 Bay PortState semifinalES pick: Muskego, 56.3% win chance. Ratings calculated 2026-10-21T04:54:06.012Z; assumed venue: neutral.1 MuskegoES 56%2 ArrowheadState final · ES pick: MuskegoLevel 1Fri, Oct 23 · 7 PMLevel 1Fri, Oct 23 · 7 PMLevel 2Fri, Oct 30 · 7 PMLevel 2Fri, Oct 30 · 7 PMLevel 3Fri, Nov 6 · 7 PMLevel 3Fri, Nov 6 · 7 PMLevel 4Fri, Nov 13 · 7 PMLevel 4Fri, Nov 13 · 7 PMRegion ARegion BRegion CRegion D

Team labels open team pages. Hover or focus a team to trace its path. Confirmed game pages are linked below the drawing.

When the games are played. Level 1: Friday, October 23, 7:00 PM · Level 2: Friday, October 30, 7:00 PM · Level 3: Friday, November 6, 7:00 PM · Level 4: Friday, November 13, 7:00 PM. Each Level 1 game is at the site WIAA lists for it, shown below. Days and times are WIAA’s as of October 17 (Central time); WIAA’s bracket page has any change.

Level 1 games: day, time and site

This is WIAA’s bracket, released October 17, 2026 (WIAA’s bracket page). The region letters A to D are ours, in the order of WIAA’s page; WIAA prints none. See our own projection through week 9 →

Division 1 · Week 9 field and cut line

Table-only view →

Since week 8: in Oshkosh West (33 → 27), Janesville Parker (36 → 31) · out Green Bay Preble (31 → 35), Hortonville (32 → 33). Biggest climbs: Madison Memorial ▲6, Oshkosh West ▲6, Neenah ▲5. Biggest drops: Marquette ▼3, Franklin ▼3, Kimberly ▼3.

The seed column is WIAA’s. Rank, totals and the cut line are still our unofficial numbers, so a team can sit on the other side of our line from WIAA’s field.

Rank+/−TeamCityW-LTotalTier 1 AVGTier 2 AVGTier 2 WinsWIAA Seed
1–West De Pere checkDe Pere37.611-A
2–Hamilton checkSussex32.611-C
3▲1Bay Port checkGreen Bay30.171-D
4▼1Muskego checkMuskego29.171-B
5▲1Arrowhead checkHartland27.942-C
6▼1Waunakee checkWaunakee27.392-D
7▲3Racine Case checkRacine27.062-B
8–Verona checkVerona27.062-A
9▼2Stevens Point Area Senior High checkStevens Point24.223-D
10▲4Hudson checkHudson24.173-A
11▼2Oconomowoc checkOconomowoc21.673-C
12▼1Indian Trail High School & Academy checkKenosha19.333-B
13▲5Neenah checkNeenah19.284-D
14▼2Kenosha Bradford checkKenosha19.284-B
15–Milwaukee Reagan checkMilwaukee19.274-A
16▼3Marquette checkMilwaukee18.614-C
17▲3Milwaukee Pulaski/Carmen Southgate check17.975-A
18▼2De Pere checkDe Pere17.335-D
19▲6Madison Memorial checkMadison16.835-C
20▼3Franklin checkFranklin15.835-B
21▼2Middleton checkMiddleton15.676-C
22▼1Appleton North checkAppleton15.616-D
23▼1Chippewa Falls checkChippewa Falls15.176-A
24▲4Milwaukee Bradley Tech/Milwaukee Arts check15.086-B
25▼2Milwaukee Riverside/Golda Meir check14.947-B
26▼2Sun Prairie East checkSun Prairie14.227-A
27▲6Oshkosh West checkOshkosh13.397-C in
28▼1D.C. Everest checkSchofield13.117-D
29▼3Kimberly checkKimberly12.118-A
30–Wausau West checkWausau10.948-D
31▲5Janesville Parker checkJanesville10.788-C in
32▼3Milwaukee Hamilton/Audubon Technology check10.258-B
Our unofficial cut line · top 32 by our numbers
33▼1Hortonville checkBelow cut lineHortonville9.94Not in WIAA field dropped
34–Janesville Craig checkBelow cut lineJanesville9.89Not in WIAA field
35▼4Green Bay Preble checkBelow cut lineGreen Bay9.61Not in WIAA field dropped
36▲1Fond du Lac checkBelow cut lineFond du Lac9.17Not in WIAA field
37▲1Oak Creek checkBelow cut lineOak Creek8.22Not in WIAA field
38▼3Madison La Follette checkBelow cut lineMadison7.11Not in WIAA field
39▲6Eau Claire North checkBelow cut lineEau Claire6.94Not in WIAA field
40▲6Brookfield East checkBelow cut lineBrookfield5.50Not in WIAA field
41▼2Appleton West checkBelow cut lineAppleton4.72Not in WIAA field
42▼2Badger checkBelow cut lineLake Geneva4.06Not in WIAA field
43–Madison West checkBelow cut lineMadison4.00Not in WIAA field
44▼3Manitowoc Lincoln checkBelow cut lineManitowoc3.33Not in WIAA field
45▼3Sheboygan North checkBelow cut lineSheboygan3.33Not in WIAA field
46▼2Appleton East checkBelow cut lineAppleton2.78Not in WIAA field
47–Kenosha Tremper checkBelow cut lineKenosha2.72Not in WIAA field
48–Mukwonago checkBelow cut lineMukwonago2.72Not in WIAA field
49–Sun Prairie West checkBelow cut lineSun Prairie1.39Not in WIAA field
50T–Eau Claire Memorial checkBelow cut lineEau Claire0.00Not in WIAA field
50T–Madison East checkBelow cut lineMadison0.00Not in WIAA field
—Shorewood checkShorewood0.00Excluded
—Northwood/Solon Springs checkProgram eligibility not verified0-0————Unverified
—Winter/Birchwood checkProgram eligibility not verified0-0————Unverified

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, 10/20/26, 11:54 PM 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

Official bracket, unofficial table. The bracket above and the seeds are WIAA’s, as published October 17, 2026. Everything else on this page (rank, totals, the cut line, the weekly movement and the worked example) is still our own calculation, described below.

How our projection was made. 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: WIAA's official bracket where stored, projected elsewhere. Through week 9 (games dated Friday 2026-10-16 or earlier; WIAA deadline: completion before 11:59 p.m. Central; stored dates do not establish finish times). 32 of 51 in the field.

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: Division 1 = 6.5, D2 = 6.0, D3 = 5.5, D4 = 5.0, D5 = 4.5, D6 = 4.0, D7 = 3.5. 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 9).
  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 9). Tier 2 AVG = Tier 2 points ÷ opponents’ games, and the Tier 2 score is 9 × Tier 2 AVG. WIAA’s rule: “Divide Tier 2 points by opponents’ games played and multiply by 9 (this is a 100% bonus to the Strength of Victory) to get the Tier 2 score.”
  3. Total (PQS) = Tier 1 AVG + 9 × 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 9. 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: Northwood/Solon Springs (not a listed program)

DateOpponentResultOpponent’s valueTier 1 earnedOpp. Tier 1 pointsOpp. gamesCounts?

Tier 1 AVG = 0.00 ÷ 0 = 0.000. Tier 2 points = 0 = 0.00; opponents’ games = 0 = 0; Tier 2 AVG = 0.00 ÷ 0 = 0.000. Total = 0.000 + 9 × 0.000 = 0.00.

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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