(10-18-26) The bracket board is full. Saturday night, the IHSA released the complete Class 1A–8A pairings for the first 384-team playoff field in Illinois history — and all 131 at-large qualifiers below .500 found out where their unlikely postseason begins.

Every one of them opens in the Opening Round on October 23–24. No at-large team earned a bye — the top eight seeds in each 1A–6A half and the top 16 in 7A and 8A get the free pass, and every sub-.500 team starts from scratch.

Related– The New Math of Illinois Football: 131 At-Large Teams Crash the Expanded IHSA Playoffs

At-large vs. at-large: somebody’s season keeps going

• #18 Braidwood (Reed-Custer, 4-5) at #15 Stillman Valley (4-5), 2A

• #17 Riverton (4-5) at #16 Carlinville (4-5), 2A

• #17 Quincy Notre Dame (4-5) at #16 Bethalto Civic Memorial (4-5), 4A South

• #17 Tinley Park (4-5) at #16 Woodstock North (4-5), 4A North

• #17 Marion (4-5) at #16 Bloomington (4-5), 5A South

• #18 Galesburg (4-5) at #15 LaSalle (Peru, 4-5), 5A

• #33 Chicago Lincoln Park (4-5) at #32 Edwardsville (4-5), 7A

• #34 Palatine (4-5) at #31 Yorkville (4-5), 7A

• East Aurora hosting #33 Oak Park (River Forest, 4-5), 8A

• #17 St. Charles East (3-6) at #16 Elk Grove Village (4-5), 6A

• #18 Mundelein Carmel (3-6) at #15 Bulls Prep (4-5), 6A North

• #15 Decatur St. Teresa (4-5) vs. #18 Piasa Southwestern (4-5), 2A

• #20 Chicago UIC Prep (3-6) at #13 Muchin, 6A North

The Lincoln Park–Edwardsville winner draws #1 Normal in the first round; the Bloomington–Marion winner draws #1 Mahomet-Seymour.

The bottom of the bracket

Twelve at-large teams landed as #24 seeds and every one travels: Effingham (2-7) is #24 in 4A South at #9 MacArthur; Mendota at #9 Manteno (3A); Columbia at #9 Olympia (3A); Champaign Centennial at #9 Corliss (5A); Crystal Lake South at #9 Sycamore (5A); Thornton Fractional South at #9 Quincy (6A South); Rockford East at #9 Burlington Central (6A North); Hamilton/West Hancock Coop at #9 Illini West (2A); Trenton Wesclin at #9 Chester (2A South); Morrison at #9 Abingdon-Avon (1A); Pleasant Hill at #9 Oakwood (1A); North Chicago at #9 Geneseo (4A North).

Below that: Roselle Lake Park (2-7) is #48 in 8A at #17 Hinsdale Central; Bartlett (2-7) is #48 in 7A at #17 Glenbard East; Lisle’s Benet Academy (2-7) is #47 in 7A at #18 Moline; Tinley Park’s Andrew (2-7) is #46 in 7A at #19 Buffalo Grove.

Brand names on the road

Neuqua Valley (3-6) is #40 in 8A at Marist. Glenbard North (3-6) is #38 in 7A at Hoffman Estates. DePaul Prep (3-6) is #37 in 7A at Hampshire. Marmion Academy (3-6) is #20 in 4A North vs. North Lawndale. Simeon (4-5) is #21 in 6A South vs. Lindblom. Nazareth Academy (4-5) is #20 in 6A South at Shepard on Friday at 7 PM. Whitney Young (4-5) is #39 in 8A at Glenbrook South.

The road to Hancock Stadium

Winners advance to the first round October 30–31 (second round for 7A/8A), then quarterfinals November 13–14, semifinals November 20–21, and the state championships at Hancock Stadium in Normal — Friday, November 27 for 1A–4A and Saturday, November 28 for 5A–8A.

One hundred thirty-one teams that wouldn’t have been here under the old format. Now they all get a kickoff.

Muse AI assisted posting