Illinois High School Football Playoff Bubble: Teams to Watch in Week 9

The 2026 Illinois High School Association football playoffs will feature an expanded field of 384 teams, up from 256. Each of the state's eight class brackets will grow from 32 teams to 48, creating more opportunities for programs to qualify for the postseason.

With four wins now enough to secure a playoff berth under the new format, teams with two or three victories enter Week 9 facing different scenarios. Some can clinch with a win, while others could still qualify based on the combined win totals of their opponents.

The IHSA's weekly playoff outlook ranks teams by wins, with the tiebreaker being opponents' total wins combined, and provides a snapshot of where programs stand entering the final week. Those rankings can change with Friday and Saturday's results, making the final week especially important for teams near the cut line.

Here are several Chicago-area programs and matchups to watch as the regular season comes to a close.

Neuqua Valley looks to return to playoffs after two-year absence

Neuqua Valley (8A) enters Friday's matchup against Naperville Central looking to return to the IHSA playoffs for the first time since 2023.

Neuqua is currently the 38th seed and currently own the tie breaker against the remaining three win teams in the 8a bracket, with 45 opponent wins while the next highest is 38 (Stevenson and Waubonsie Valley)

The Wildcats finished 7-4 that season, defeating Palatine in the opening round of the Class 8A playoffs before falling to defending state champion (2024) Loyola Academy in the second round.

Neuqua Valley missed the postseason in both 2024 and 2025, finishing 2-7 and 3-6. The Wildcats enter their regular-season finale at 3-5, while Naperville Central has already clinched with a 4-4 record.

Elk Grove eyes return to the postseason for the second time in thirteen years

Elk Grove (6A) has experienced what it takes to end a lengthy playoff drought. In 2022, the Grenadiers qualified for the IHSA football playoffs for the first time since 2013, snapping a nine-year absence from the postseason.

The Grenadiers enter their Week 9 matchup against Rolling Meadows (6A) with a 3-5 record, according to the regular-season outlook. Rolling Meadows enters at 2-6, setting up a matchup between two teams looking to punch their ticket.

Rolling Meadows is coming off a playoff win last year before falling in the second round to the evantual state champs, Fenwick.

Both teams are currently just above the cut line Elk Grove is sitting at the 40th seed while Rolling Meadows is just behind them at 45.

Other two-win teams looking to catch these two teams include Rockford East, Amundsen, Richwoods, Maine West, Romeoville, and Vernon Hills.

Elk grove will host Rolling meadows on Friday at 7pm.

Taft and Bulls College Prep meet in win and in Matchup

Friday's matchup between Taft (8A) and Bulls College Prep (6A) brings together two Chicago programs with postseason history and an opportunity to finish the regular season with a post season berth.

Both teams enter the contest at 3-5, setting up a matchup between programs looking to build toward a return to the IHSA playoffs.

Taft is ranked at 45, Bulls college prep is at 41 in their respective divisions.

The winner will clinch a postseason berth while the losing team would need help in the tiebreaker in order to claim one of the final spots.

Taft last qualified for the postseason in 2024, when the Eagles finished 7-4 and earned the No. 16 seed in the Class 8A bracket. Their playoff run ended in the opening round with a 37-6 loss to Minooka. Taft also made playoff appearances in 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Bulls College Prep last reached the state playoffs in 2021, qualifying in Class 5A.

With identical records entering the game, the matchup offers one team to sleep easy knowing they have clinched a spot.

The Game will take place at CPS lane Stadium on Friday at 7:30.

St. Laurence Prep faces DePaul College in another postseason test

DePaul College Prep (7A) enters Friday's game against St. Laurence with a 3-5 record, while St. Laurence (7A) enters at 2-6.

This game isnt about the three win team as much as it is about the two win team.

DePaul College prep is sitting comfortably as the thirty four seed, leading all unclinched teams with 41 opponent wins.

St. Laurence is currently the 46th seed.

St. Laurence will clinch with a win, crazy enough they don't necessarily need a win to get in.

The 7a bracket is one that is going to benefit greatly from the expansion as there are five, two-win teams currently in rounding off the 48 team bracket while five one-win teams are just sitting just below the cutoff as they are ranked 49-53.

The game will take place at Depaul College Prep Stadium, 7pm on friday.

Official Brackets revealed Saturday night

As the regular season concludes Friday and Saturday, the final results will help shape the postseason picture across Illinois. The official IHSA playoff pairings will officially come out on Saturday, October 17th at 9 pm during a live selection show on NFHS network and on television on WCIU “the U.”

The rest of the standings and tiebreakers can be viewed here.

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