IHSA football bracketology: Full eight-class playoff projections and breakdown ahead of Week 9

By this time next week, there will be brackets. 

Week 9 of the high school football season in Illinois commences on Thursday and runs till Saturday, marking the end of the season for hundreds of teams. But 256 teams will play at least one more game in the playoffs.

Clutch Sports Media’s updated bracket projections ahead of the regular season’s final week include a host of changes, from 10 new teams finding their way into the projected fields and other shifts in seeding and classifications. 

Our full projected brackets for all eight classes also include breakdowns that include seeding paths and potential opponents for each team in the Peoria and Bloomington/Norma area, as well as other pertinent notes about brackets and matchups outside of the area. 

Currently, five 4-5 teams are projected to be in the postseason picture with the number of playoff points (also known as opponents’ wins) needed to get in at 4-5 forecasted to be at 46. Last season’s cutoff for 4-5 teams was 51 playoff points and only one 4-5 team made it in. 

New entries into the brackets this week included Dwight, Chicago Marshall, Poplar Grove North Boone, Carthage Illini West, Country Club Hills Hillcrest, Jacksonville, Troy Triad, Vernon Hills, Rockford Jefferson and Naperville North.  

The highest-seeded Central Illinois teams according to these projections are Washington, Bloomington Central Catholic, El Paso-Gridley, Normal West and Farmington. The IHSA will release the postseason brackets beginning at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25. 

Check out the full projected brackets and breakdowns below. 

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