4 Playoff Teams?

[Let’sGetAlong]

Here's a look at how #4 seeds did against #1 seeds. Obviously you are going to have upsets when you have 64 of these games take place, but I believe the numbers show 4A and below should only bring three teams to the playoffs. There were so many games that were a complete embarrassment and probably should not have been played.

 

3A D1

 

One seeds went 14-2 outscoring their opponents 666-263 for +25.2 per game.

 

3A D2

 

One seeds went 14-2 outscoring their opponents 746-225 for +32.6 per game.

 

4A D1

 

One seeds went 14-2 outscoring their opponents 774-274 for +31.3 per game.

 

4A D2

 

One seeds went 15-1 outscoring their opponents 710-224 for +29.9 per game.

 

All together One seeds went 57-7 outscoring their opponents 2,896-986 for +29.9 per game with a an 89.1% winning percentage.

 

We should take note that two of the 4 seeds have advanced on to the third round, but I believe it is a bad idea when looking at the overall picture.

[smitty]

Again -- 4 teams is a joke.  It's all about getting playoff money for the schools, nothing more.  I do,. though, understand that years ago 1 team was not enough.  But, they went over board.  If they want to make it mean something again, they will go to 2 teams.  But -- doing what's right is not the point here...

[Bulldog92]

Two is perfect or maybe even three with a bye system, but four is ridiculous. 

[Guest MTJ]

2-3 max

[Longhorn63]

Not going to hear me complain about the opportunity to see more football. In the end the teams that deserve to be there wins out.

[drewlsu]

What's the problem if it rewards the 1 seeds by playing a team they should easily beat?
If you went to three teams they would have a bye anyway. This way they can keep the rust off and get some younger players playoff experience.

And if the 4 seed wins, then they deserve to be there anyway.

[belle-mere]

What's the problem if it rewards the 1 seeds by playing a team they should easily beat?
If you went to three teams they would have a bye anyway. This way they can keep the rust off and get some younger players playoff experience.

And if the 4 seed wins, then they deserve to be there anyway.

[belle-mere]

The only folks who can truly complain are the #1s who get knocked off by a 4th seed. And then there are strong districts whose 4th place may be a better team. It is what it is, until somebody changes it.

[Guest ECBucFan]

I can hold my nose and try to accept 4 teams, but ONLY out of an 8 team district! Taking 4 out of 5 is a pathetic joke by the UIL.

[Let’sGetAlong]

I can hold my nose and try to accept 4 teams, but ONLY out of an 8 team district! Taking 4 out of 5 is a pathetic joke by the UIL.

There you go. 

 

If Houston Scarbrough would have somehow beat WOS I still do not believe they should have been there. Playoffs are for teams who have won, not for teams who haven't lost the most. 

[RaiderRed30]

4 teams is better than a 3 with a bye. Yes a bye seems nice for a district champ but for some teams not having a game could affect their rhythm. If there are only two then there would be a whole lotta complaining because there are many districts with 3 really good teams. 4 teams seem like a stretch and yes it generates more money but for teams such as Scarborough and other usually bad teams think about how the players feel getting a chance to make it where every ones got the same shot. Look at a North Crowley 2003 as an example. 3rd place team ends up winning state after starting 0-4. And then think about those small towns where everyone goes to the game and the excitement it means for them to get to watch there team one more time. There should never be more than 4 teams but it's a number that works. The only hope is UIL tries to even district numbers out but it's hard when in west texas teams have to travel 2-3 hours for the nearest school in their classification and looking at the alignments it seems that the only class with many 5 teams districts is 4A which is the clasd that UIL always has problems trying to figure out.

[WildcatBacker]

The system will never be perfect and just like with anything else in this world, nothing is going to make everyone happy. 4 teams going does water down the playoffs quite a bit and takes away somewhat from the bragging rights of saying you've made the playoffs, but it gives towns in each district something to shoot for and play for when in past years, they didn't have it. My biggest gripe is with the split classifications. I wish they would have one state champion per division instead of the big school/small school thing. In fact I'd rather see 1A through 12A, instead of 1A through 6A with two different divisions of each. Just my opinion though and I'm sure it means nothing. Lol..

[HJ2012]

The system will never be perfect and just like with anything else in this world, nothing is going to make everyone happy. 4 teams going does water down the playoffs quite a bit and takes away somewhat from the bragging rights of saying you've made the playoffs, but it gives towns in each district something to shoot for and play for when in past years, they didn't have it. My biggest gripe is with the split classifications. I wish they would have one state champion per division instead of the big school/small school thing. In fact I'd rather see 1A through 12A, instead of 1A through 6A with two different divisions of each. Just my opinion though and I'm sure it means nothing. Lol..

1A - 12A is no different than what it is now aside from the fact that top classifications are split later.

[WildcatBacker]

1A - 12A is no different than what it is now aside from the fact that top classifications are split later.

I know, but at least a team could say they were the straight up "2A or 5A or 7A champions" or whatever. No more double state champs per division. I know that's splitting hairs, but I still never liked 2 champs 'sharing' a division. But again....who am I? Lol..

[DirtyBird]

Yeah, less football is always better....lol

[eagle1962]

I think if you asked any of the fourth place teams in any district if they would do it again or would rather stay home you will get your answere as a football fan I think the more games the better enjoy football quit bitching or just stay home

[DirtyBird]

Did the 4th seed earn a playoff spot? No. But they almost always get sent home. If they manage to win in the first round then good for them. I think they realize they didn't earn it. But there will occassionally be a team that suffers injuries and may end up in the playoffs and make a run. And then, there are some 4th seeds that could have very well finished 3rd or even second in another District but unfortunately got stuck in a tougher district. Pleasant Grove finished 4th in our district and likely could have finished 2nd in Gilmers district.

[eagle1962]

there will probably never be a 4th place seed win the state championship,but could possibly go 2 or 3 rounds could happen

it could possibly be your team one day Tatum could have been a 4th place team this year but we are stiil playing

[RaiderRed30]

When thinking about this in 15-6A all four teams are left after the second round. Are y'all saying the 4th place team shouldn't be there even though they have won 2 playoff games.

[eagle1962]

that's pretty much what they are saying

[NewtonNation]

When thinking about this in 15-6A all four teams are left after the second round. Are y'all saying the 4th place team shouldn't be there even though they have won 2 playoff games.

Exactly... People seem to forget that the UIL decides who is in what district. Why should 16-6A be rewarded for being in a weak district? The winner of 16-6A wouldn't have made the playoffs in 15-6A. The same thing with 22-5A getting swept by 21-5A. In 4A and 3A seven 4th place teams beat 1st place teams in the opening round.
Everyone says that the UIL is teaching kids that everyone is a winner. Wrong, if anything, the UIL is taking their hands out of it and teaching kids that if you want to win it has to be earned on the field. Districts have to be aligned but it's up to the kids to decide who is the best teams.
If any of the 4th place teams mentioned above were in another district and got first place the same people griping about this playoff system would be saying they deserve to be there.

[Let’sGetAlong]

When thinking about this in 15-6A all four teams are left after the second round. Are y'all saying the 4th place team shouldn't be there even though they have won 2 playoff games.

I was never talking about 5A and 6A because you don't necessarily see 1 vs 4 match-ups and their districts are much larger on a whole. Go to UIL and look at the size of many of the 3A and 4A districts. Numerous districts of 4 or 5 teams. I can live with 4 teams advancing if you have at least an 8 team district. They should have never split 3A and 4A like they did. Leave the districts big and split them into D1 and D2 once the playoffs begin. I believe I read somewhere that in one of the 3A or 4A divisions something like 75% made the playoffs. That in itself loses all credibility of sending 4 in my mind. There are some districts that are much tougher than other districts but it's like that in all sports. No other sport sends so many to the playoffs.

[RaiderRed30]

Yes but 4A has always been a problem with the number of teams, it is like an accordion, being smaller in the middle. There are only 196 teams overall. There will be smaller districts but having two teams in the strong districts like District 3 which has three of the top 10 teams in the state left in the playoffs how is it fair for a team such as Stephenville to be left out because they lost to Wylie and Big Spring? Stephenville is probably the best team in the state. In 3A there are no five teams district only 6 teams and those are areas with teams having to travel multiple hours. 4 teams is better than 3. Nobody wants a bye.

[Let’sGetAlong]

Yes but 4A has always been a problem with the number of teams, it is like an accordion, being smaller in the middle. There are only 196 teams overall. There will be smaller districts but having two teams in the strong districts like District 3 which has three of the top 10 teams in the state left in the playoffs how is it fair for a team such as Stephenville to be left out because they lost to Wylie and Big Spring? Stephenville is probably the best team in the state. In 3A there are no five teams district only 6 teams and those are areas with teams having to travel multiple hours. 4 teams is better than 3. Nobody wants a bye.

Don't understand part of your argument. If Stephenville lost two district games how can they be the best team in the state? UIL can control the cutoff numbers so they could adjust those numbers to change how many teams are in each classification. Three was fine and they sent the big schools to one bracket and the two smaller schools to a different bracket. No one received a bye and not 70-80% of teams made the playoffs. If you're argument is the bye...I believe a lot of teams would like a bye and in the previous system for 3A-5A (old classifications) no one received a bye. 

[RaiderRed30]

Don't understand part of your argument. If Stephenville lost two district games how can they be the best team in the state? UIL can control the cutoff numbers so they could adjust those numbers to change how many teams are in each classification. Three was fine and they sent the big schools to one bracket and the two smaller schools to a different bracket. No one received a bye and not 70-80% of teams made the playoffs. If you're argument is the bye...I believe a lot of teams would like a bye and in the previous system for 3A-5A (old classifications) no one received a bye.

First stephenville lost two by 1 td each without their all american QB to two top 10 teams and he came back last week and had 500 yards of offense and 9 tds.

As for the issue. UIL wants to keep as 2 to 1 ratio. This shows up in 4A. It has always been the issue in 4A. The schools voted for the split because of the vast enrollment differences. With that 3 teams were going to force a bye for the champion. Yes most teams would like a bye but some may want the game to keep fresh. The schools then decided on 4 teams and starting next year it is that way for all classes. What harm does it do if the schools voted for it. For the district champs it they are good enough it becomes basically a bye and gives other players more of a chance to play that don't usually. For a district that is very deep it gives them a chance. Once the playoffs start everyone's got the same shot. What harm does that cause? If a fourth place team in a district where everyone is ranked or gets players that were injured back for the playoffs and they win state should they lose the trophy because they finished fourth? Yes times have changed since the one and two teams get in days but this for these tough districts. It also gives weaker teams a chance because everyone has a shot. Saw somewhere where whitesboro went 2-8 and they are still in. Should they not have gotten in? Finally think of those small towns that live and die for Friday nights. The ones where a burglar could rob the whole town blind cause everyone's at the game. Or where everyone travels to away games. They still exist and giving them one more game to cheer on their towns and hope for a miracle is that big of an issue. The schools voted. Yes UIL makes some more money but four teams get in for the players and for the fans. What is the problem? Its more football.