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The WIAA football playoff qualification process used to be much more confusing, but with statewide conference realignment that went into effect last year, things are easier to follow. This report attempts to simplify where teams stand as of games played through Week 8. This report will be updated again after each week of the season.

The WIAA 11-player football postseason features seven divisions of 32 teams, for a total of 224 teams that qualify for the playoffs. Those 224 teams are determined after the completion of the regular season, and then split into seven equal divisions.

Teams that have a conference winning percentage better than .500 are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, thus with every team in the state playing (or being credited with) seven conference games, winning four of them guarantees you a spot in the postseason. A caveat is that there are an odd-number of teams in the state this year, and the Capitol Conference only has seven teams and is unpaired, so those teams will play six games, meaning four conference wins clinches a spot and three conference wins gets you qualified and very likely in the postseason, and we are considering that in the "Clinched" category).

With the number of teams playing 11-player football under 370, there are a number of teams that will finish under .500 in conference play that will make the postseason. However, we do not know how many of those under .500 conference teams will qualify, or which tiebreakers the WIAA will have to go through to figure out which ones make it.

For our purposes, teams that reach three conference wins (except Capitol Conference) will be on the "Bubble", having a chance to get in via tiebreakers but not guaranteed a spot.

Through games played in Week Eight, 160 teams have clinched playoff spots. 

47 teams are on the Bubble with three conference wins.

55 teams can get on the Bubble with one more conference win.

In addition to these teams, Clinton is 2-3 as a member of the Capitol Conference. If they Cougars win, they'd get to 3-3 and we'd consider them as clinched; if they lose they'd fall to 2-4, we'd consider them as eliminated.

This Playoff Qualifying Report lists those teams that have clinched a playoff spot, those that are on the Bubble, and those that need one more conference win to get on the Bubble.

The Playoff Qualifying Report will be updated each week for the rest of the regular season.

160 teams

(Guaranteed conference record over .500)

47 teams

(Teams that have guaranteed at least three conference wins)

55 teams

(Teams with two conference wins that need one more to get on the bubble)

^ - Pius XI Catholic will receive a forfeit win from Dominican in Week 9 and thus will finish 3-4 in the Midwest Classic-Small.

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.