Eight weeks are in the books for the 2021 Florida high school football season and the FHSAA has released their latest look at the RPI football playoff rankings as we head into Week 9 of the season.
As such this update provides the entire state a glimpse of what the potential playoff matchups could be looking like come the second week of November, but remember things change, as we still have three weeks worth of games (including this week) to go, however, the playoff picture is starting to become much more clearer with few games left.
In Classes 5A-8A, district record was taken into consideration except on certain exceptions which are noted.
For Class 7A, you will find a breakdown of RPI rankings for each team in every region and a projected seeding (including tiebreakers) based upon the guidelines as published by the FHSAA (click here to view), as well as quick thoughts about each region.
REGION 1
| Rank | Team | Record | RPI |
| 1 | Spruce Creek | 7-0 | 0.707 |
| 2 | University (Orange City) | 4-0 | 0.655 |
| 3 | Buchholz | 6-1 | 0.645 |
| 4 | Niceville | 7-1 | 0.640 |
| 5 | Atlantic Coast | 4-3 | 0.570 |
| 6 | Nease | 5-3 | 0.550 |
| 7 | Navarre | 4-2 | 0.543 |
| 8 | Crestview | 5-3 | 0.534 |
| 9 | Fletcher | 4-3 | 0.530 |
| 10 | Fleming Island | 4-3 | 0.509 |
| 11 | Pace | 3-4 | 0.493 |
| 12 | Chiles | 3-5 | 0.490 |
| 13 | Ponte Vedra | 3-5 | 0.478 |
| 14 | Forest | 3-4 | 0.461 |
| 15 | Lyman | 1-6 | 0.429 |
| 16 | Leon | 1-5 | 0.382 |
| 17 | Tate | 1-7 | 0.371 |
| 18 | First Coast | 0-7 | 0.360 |
| 19 | Winter Springs | 1-5 | 0.340 |
| 20 | Lake Howell | 1-6 | 0.326 |
PROJECTED DISTRICT CHAMPS
This is based on current district standings and taking the highest-rated team among the district standings if they have won district games. Should a district not have any district games played as of yet, the highest-rated team will be mythically slotted in as a district champion for projection purposes only. Teams highlighted in red have officially clinched their district championship.
7A-1: Niceville – No. 3
7A-2: Buchholz – No. 2
7A-3: Fletcher – No. 4
7A-4: Spruce Creek – No. 1
PROJECTED REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS
No. 8 Navarre vs. No. 1 Spruce Creek
No. 5 University vs. No. 4 Fletcher
No. 6 Atlantic Coast vs. No. 3 Niceville
No. 7 Nease vs. No. 2 Buchholz
QUICK THOUGHTS: Things took an interesting turn this week as Niceville fell out of the No. 1 seed to No. 3 this week once it was revealed which team they were going to have to forfeit to due to an ineligible player. With that said, things show Spruce Creek sitting at No. 1 now. However, keep in mind things could change again with three weeks left to go, so nothing is for certain in this region.
REGION 2
| Rank | Team | Record | RPI |
| 1 | Edgewater | 7-1 | 0.678 |
| 2 | Lakeland | 6-1 | 0.665 |
| 3 | Martin County | 5-0 | 0.652 |
| 4 | Viera | 4-2 | 0.652 |
| 5 | Lake Gibson | 5-3 | 0.608 |
| 6 | Seminole Ridge | 6-1 | 0.603 |
| 7 | Melbourne | 5-2 | 0.591 |
| 8 | Bartow | 4-3 | 0.568 |
| 9 | Dwyer | 4-3 | 0.555 |
| 10 | Harmony | 4-3 | 0.520 |
| 11 | Kathleen | 2-5 | 0.507 |
| 12 | East River | 3-8 | 0.485 |
| 13 | Wekiva | 2-5 | 0.467 |
| 14 | Ridge Community | 3-4 | 0.463 |
| 15 | George Jenkins | 3-4 | 0.460 |
| 16 | Sebastian River | 1-4 | 0.428 |
| 17 | Winter Haven | 1-7 | 0.408 |
| 18 | St. Cloud | 2-5 | 0.394 |
| 19 | East Ridge | 0-7 | 0.370 |
| 20 | Fort Pierce Westwood | 0-7 | 0.361 |
PROJECTED DISTRICT CHAMPS
This is based on current district standings and taking the highest-rated team among the district standings if they have won district games. Should a district not have any district games played as of yet, the highest-rated team will be mythically slotted in as a district champion for projection purposes only. Teams highlighted in red have officially clinched their district championship.
7A-5: Lake Gibson – No. 3
7A-6: Edgewater – No. 1
7A-7: Melbourne – No. 4
7A-8: Martin County – No. 2
PROJECTED REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS
No. 8 Bartow vs. No. 1 Edgewater
No. 5 Lakeland vs. No. 4 Melbourne
No. 6 Viera vs. No. 3 Lake Gibson
No. 7 Seminole Ridge vs. No. 2 Martin County
QUICK THOUGHTS: Edgewater is sitting on top of this region, but it is not all sealed up with several teams not too far behind that would like to have the top seed overall in the region. However, things are still very fluid in this region and with three weeks of games left, there is still a lot that can happen.
REGION 3
| Rank | Team | Record | RPI |
| 1 | Tampa Bay Tech | 7-0 | 0.795 |
| 2 | Wharton | 6-0 | 0.666 |
| 3 | Wiregrass Ranch | 4-2 | 0.664 |
| 4 | Lehigh | 5-1 | 0.643 |
| 5 | Armwood | 5-2 | 0.631 |
| 6 | Mitchell | 6-2 | 0.591 |
| 7 | Palmetto | 3-3 | 0.580 |
| 8 | Gaither | 4-4 | 0.562 |
| 9 | Largo | 3-4 | 0.555 |
| 10 | East Bay | 5-2 | 0.536 |
| 11 | Bloomingdale | 3-4 | 0.535 |
| 12 | Sickles | 4-3 | 0.502 |
| 13 | Palmetto Ridge | 3-4 | 0.501 |
| 14 | Riverdale | 2-4 | 0.481 |
| 15 | Manatee | 1-6 | 0.463 |
| 16 | Strawberry Crest | 3-5 | 0.455 |
| 17 | North Port | 2-6 | 0.413 |
| 18 | Lennard | 1-6 | 0.398 |
| 19 | Leto | 1-4 | 0.323 |
PROJECTED DISTRICT CHAMPS
This is based on current district standings and taking the highest-rated team among the district standings if they have won district games. Should a district not have any district games played as of yet, the highest-rated team will be mythically slotted in as a district champion for projection purposes only. Teams highlighted in red have officially clinched their district championship.
7A-9: Mitchell – No. 3
7A-10: Tampa Bay Tech – No. 1
7A-11: Palmetto- No. 4
7A-12: Lehigh – No. 2
PROJECTED REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS
No. 8 Gaither vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay Tech
No. 5 Wharton vs. No. 4 Palmetto
No. 6 Wiregrass Ranch vs. No. 3 Mitchell
No. 7 Armwood vs. No. 2 Lehigh
QUICK THOUGHTS: If Tampa Bay Tech defeats Wharton this week, it could be very hard for any other team in the region to catch the Titans for the No. 1 seed. However, after that, there is a lot in play here and things will remain very undecided until once we get to the end of the regular season in a few weeks’ time.
REGION 4
| Rank | Team | Record | RPI |
| 1 | St. Thomas Aquinas | 7-1 | 0.730 |
| 2 | Doral Academy | 6-1 | 0.688 |
| 3 | Homestead | 6-1 | 0.686 |
| 4 | Dillard | 7-0 | 0.674 |
| 5 | Miramar | 5-2 | 0.639 |
| 6 | Fort Lauderdale | 4-1 | 0.600 |
| 7 | South Broward | 6-1 | 0.591 |
| 8 | Atlantic (Delray Beach) | 4-3 | 0.552 |
| 9 | Mater Academy | 4-4 | 0.521 |
| 10 | Miami Southridge | 3-4 | 0.519 |
| 11 | Nova | 4-3 | 0.496 |
| 12 | North Miami | 3-4 | 0.465 |
| 13 | McArthur | 3-3 | 0.456 |
| 14 | Olympic Heights | 2-4 | 0.437 |
| 15 | Hialeah | 2-5 | 0.421 |
| 16 | Cooper City | 3-5 | 0.413 |
| 17 | Piper | 1-5 | 0.396 |
| 18 | Blanche Ely | 1-5 | 0.381 |
| 19 | South Plantation | 1-7 | 0.368 |
| 20 | Everglades | 0-7 | 0.282 |
PROJECTED DISTRICT CHAMPS
This is based on current district standings and taking the highest-rated team among the district standings if they have won district games. Should a district not have any district games played as of yet, the highest-rated team will be mythically slotted in as a district champion for projection purposes only. Teams highlighted in red have officially clinched their district championship.
7A-13: Fort Lauderdale – No. 4
7A-14: Dillard – No. 2
7A-15: Miramar – No. 3
7A-16: Homestead – No. 1
PROJECTED REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS
No. 8 Atlantic (Delray) vs. No. 1 Homestead
No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. No. 4 Fort Lauderdale
No. 6 Doral Academy vs. No. 3 Miramar
No. 7 South Broward vs. No. 2 Dillard
QUICK THOUGHTS: While Miramar and Homestead have clinched their respective districts, what seed they might get is going to jump around until the end of the season, so don’t count on this staying the same next week. A huge matchup with Dillard and St. Thomas Aquinas this week will also give us more answers on what to expect on how things will shake out for the last three weeks.
