CSM Power Rankings, Oct. 19, 2026: Heyworth, Morton move up, PND enters after impressive Week 9 wins
Now is the time that all high school football fans across Illinois have been waiting for: the playoffs.
Week 9 of the regular season wrapped up on Oct. 16 and saw Normal Community, Morton and Heyworth put a bow on conference titles with commendable performances against teams that had otherwise fared solidly during the season.
October 23 and 24 will be judgment days of sorts for how the newly-expanded IHSA playoffs will unfold. IHSA member schools voted last December to expand the playoff field from 256 to 384 (48 teams per class) and the results of the expanded field shook out as follows: 61 teams that went 4-5 made the playoffs, 52 teams that went 3-6 also punched their ticket and 18 teams that finished 2-7 will get an opportunity in the postseason as well.
However, none of the top 10 teams in the Clutch Sports Media power rankings finished with those records and eight of those teams earned a bye past this week’s games, which are being called the Opening Round.
Check out how the top football teams in the area stack up and takeaways for all of them in this week’s CSM Power Rankings below. Teams in the Mid-Illini and Big 12 are part of the large school rankings while area schools in any other conference are part of the small school rankings.
Want to read more?
Subscribe to clutchsportsil.com to keep reading this exclusive post.
