We know there are many arguments against the current ranking system used by the VHSL to seed teams for playoffs. So I did a little analysis of the first round to see if the arguments are valid. Here’s what I found:
Class 6 (16 games)
* 14 games won by higher seed – average margin of victory: 42-11 (+31)
* 2 games won by #5 over #4 (one #5 winner had better W-L record than #4)
* No games won by #6, #7 or #8 seeds
* Total score of #1 vs #8 and #2 vs #7 games: 344-44
Class 5 (14 games)
* 10 games won by higher seed – average margin of victory: 43-10 (+33)
* 3 games won by #5 over #4 (one #5 winner had better W-L record than #4)
* 1 game won by #6 over #3 (both teams had same W-L record, 8-2)
* No games won by #7 or #8 seeds
* Total score of #1 vs. #8 and #2 vs. #7 games: 232-76
Class 4 (16 games)
* 11 games won by higher seed – average margin of victory: 43-14 (+29)
* 2 games won by #5 over #4 (one of #5 winners had same W-L record as #4)
* 1 game won by #6 seed
* 1 game won by #7 seed (5-5 record)
* Region C took top 4 teams from each district (Dulles and Northwest)
* 1 lower seed in Region C defeated higher seed (#3 over #2)
* No games won by #8 seeds
* Total score of #1 vs #8 and #2 vs #7 games: 279-123 (49 of the 123 scored by one team)
Class 3 (16 games)
* 15 games won by higher seed – average margin of victory: 44-16 (+28)
* 1 game won by #5 over #4
* No games won by #6, #7 or #8 seeds
* Total score of #1 vs #8 games and #2 vs #7 games: 412-132
Class 2 (16 games)
* 14 games won by higher seed – average margin of victory: 40-14 (+26)
* 1 game won by #5 over #4
* 1 game won by #6 over #3
* No games won by #7 or #8 seeds
* Total score of #1 vs #8 and #2 vs #7 games: 310-97
Class 1 (16 games)
* 11 games won by higher seed – average margin of victory: 45-10 (+35)
* 3 games won by #5 over #4 (one #5 winner had a better W-L record than #4)
* 2 games won by #6 over #3
* No games won by #7 or #8 seeds
* Total score of #1 vs #8 and #2 vs #7 games: 346-56
In Total:
94 total playoff games
89 games won by team with .500 record or better
Total average margin of victory in games won by higher seed: 43-13 (+30)
1 game won by #7 seed
0 games won by #8 seed
Total score of all #1 vs #8 and #2 vs #7 games: 1923-528 (average score #1/#2 seeds 44, #8/#7 seeds 12; average 32 point margin)
What Do You Think?
Do we need to have #7 and #8 seeds in playoffs when they're losing by an average of 32 points a game?
Should an NFL model be adopted across the board where only the top six teams from each region advances, giving the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds byes?
Only 5 out of 94 lower seeds advanced.
Continue the conversation on our forums below...
Chat on our VaPreps Forums Here
Eddy Hendricks is a regular contributor to 'The High School Football Scoreboard Show,' which is hosted by Richie Summerville on Friday nights from 7-11 PM EST weekly on ESPN Radio 94.1 during the season. For updates on games, you can follow the Scoreboard Show Page on Facebook as well as @ESPNRadio941 on Twitter.
