Nine 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 10 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 | Buchholz | 7-1 | 0.685 |
| 2 | Spruce Creek | 7-1 | 0.684 |
| 3 | Niceville | 7-1 | 0.654 |
| 4 | University (Orange City) | 5-1 | 0.641 |
| 5 | Crestview | 6-3 | 0.548 |
| 6 | Atlantic Coast | 4-4 | 0.541 |
| 7 | Nease | 5-3 | 0.539 |
| 8 | Fletcher | 5-3 | 0.538 |
| 9 | Fleming Island | 5-3 | 0.538 |
| 10 | Navarre | 4-3 | 0.514 |
| 11 | Chiles | 3-5 | 0.501 |
| 12 | Ponte Vedra | 3-5 | 0.484 |
| 13 | Pace | 3-5 | 0.473 |
| 14 | Forest | 3-5 | 0.470 |
| 15 | Lyman | 2-6 | 0.443 |
| 16 | Leon | 1-6 | 0.369 |
| 17 | Tate | 1-7 | 0.363 |
| 18 | Winter Springs | 1-6 | 0.353 |
| 19 | First Coast | 0-8 | 0.352 |
| 20 | Lake Howell | 1-7 | 0.316 |
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. 1
7A-3: Fletcher – No. 4
7A-4: Spruce Creek – No. 2
PROJECTED REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS
No. 8 Nease vs. No. 1 Buchholz
No. 5 University vs. No. 4 Fletcher
No. 6 Crestview vs. No. 3 Niceville
No. 7 Atlantic Coast vs. No. 2 Spruce Creek
QUICK THOUGHTS: With Buchholz’s big win over Bolles and Spruce Creek falling to Cocoa, bolted the Bobcats into the top seed for the region this week while the Hawks shift to the No. 2 seed. There has been some movement among the projected at-large berths with Crestview moving in from the outside to get the No. 6 seed at the moment while Atlantic Coast and Nease shift down to the No. 7 and No. 8 spots with Navarre needing a win over Crestview this week to keep hopes alive as they fall to No. 10 in the region.
REGION 2
| Rank | Team | Record | RPI |
| 1 | Lakeland | 7-1 | 0.679 |
| 2 | Martin County | 6-0 | 0.674 |
| 3 | Edgewater | 8-1 | 0.672 |
| 4 | Viera | 5-2 | 0.645 |
| 5 | Seminole Ridge | 7-1 | 0.617 |
| 6 | Lake Gibson | 6-3 | 0.612 |
| 7 | Melbourne | 6-2 | 0.601 |
| 8 | Bartow | 4-4 | 0.552 |
| 9 | Harmony | 5-3 | 0.542 |
| 10 | Dwyer | 4-4 | 0.540 |
| 11 | Kathleen | 2-6 | 0.490 |
| 12 | Wekiva | 4-5 | 0.474 |
| 13 | East River | 3-6 | 0.470 |
| 14 | Ridge Community | 3-5 | 0.470 |
| 15 | Sebastian River | 2-4 | 0.458 |
| 16 | George Jenkins | 3-5 | 0.438 |
| 17 | Winter Haven | 1-8 | 0.408 |
| 18 | St. Cloud | 2-6 | 0.406 |
| 19 | Fort Pierce Westwood | 0-8 | 0.358 |
| 20 | East Ridge | 0-9 | 0.340 |
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. 4
7A-6: Edgewater – No. 2
7A-7: Viera – No. 3
7A-8: Martin County – No. 1
PROJECTED REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS
No. 8 Bartow vs. No. 1 Martin County
No. 5 Lakeland vs. No. 4 Lake Gibson
No. 6 Seminole Ridge vs. No. 3 Viera
No. 7 Melbourne vs. No. 2 Edgewater
QUICK THOUGHTS: Things have gotten interesting in this region as Martin County has shifted to the No. 1 seed while Edgewater slides back to the No. 2 seed. Viera is projected now as a district champion at the No 3 seed while Lake Gibson slides to the No. 4 seed as a district champion. Lakeland, although ranked the top team overall in the region, will get no higher than the No. 5 seed and a rematch with Lake Gibson could be in the cards for the opening round of the playoffs.
REGION 3
| Rank | Team | Record | RPI |
| 1 | Tampa Bay Tech | 8-0 | 0.799 |
| 2 | Armwood | 6-2 | 0.654 |
| 3 | Lehigh | 6-1 | 0.644 |
| 4 | Wharton | 6-1 | 0.642 |
| 5 | Wiregrass Ranch | 4-3 | 0.629 |
| 6 | Palmetto | 4-3 | 0.594 |
| 7 | Mitchell | 6-2 | 0.587 |
| 8 | Largo | 4-4 | 0.577 |
| 9 | Gaither | 5-4 | 0.560 |
| 10 | Bloomingdale | 3-5 | 0.517 |
| 11 | Riverdale | 3-4 | 0.505 |
| 12 | East Bay | 5-3 | 0.501 |
| 13 | Palmetto Ridge | 3-5 | 0.496 |
| 14 | Manatee | 2-6 | 0.488 |
| 15 | Sickles | 4-4 | 0.486 |
| 16 | Strawberry Crest | 3-5 | 0.442 |
| 17 | Lennard | 2-6 | 0.421 |
| 18 | North Port | 2-7 | 0.405 |
| 19 | Leto | 1-5 | 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-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 Largo vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay Tech
No. 5 Armwood vs. No. 4 Mitchell
No. 6 Wharton vs. No. 3 Palmetto
No. 7 Wiregrass Ranch vs. No. 2 Lehigh
QUICK THOUGHTS: Three of the four district champions are known in Region 3 with the likely district champion for District 7A-9 unlikely to be known until the final rankings coming out after Week 11 as that district is expected to end up in a three-way tie. As of right now none of the top four seeds change up except for Palmetto and Mitchell switching the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. For the at-large berths, things shake up with Armwood moving up to the No. 5 seed while Wharton, Wiregrass Ranch, and Largo round out the remaining seeds, leaving Gaither on the outside looking in at the moment.
REGION 4
| Rank | Team | Record | RPI |
| 1 | St. Thomas Aquinas | 8-1 | 0.752 |
| 2 | Doral Academy | 6-1 | 0.676 |
| 3 | Homestead | 7-1 | 0.676 |
| 4 | Dillard | 7-1 | 0.642 |
| 5 | Miramar | 5-2 | 0.620 |
| 6 | Fort Lauderdale | 5-1 | 0.615 |
| 7 | South Broward | 7-1 | 0.599 |
| 8 | Atlantic (Delray Beach) | 5-3 | 0.561 |
| 9 | Miami Southridge | 3-5 | 0.511 |
| 10 | Mater Academy | 4-5 | 0.503 |
| 11 | Piper | 3-5 | 0.460 |
| 12 | Nova | 4-4 | 0.459 |
| 13 | North Miami | 3-5 | 0.455 |
| 14 | Cooper City | 4-5 | 0.445 |
| 15 | McArthur | 3-4 | 0.438 |
| 16 | Olympic Heights | 2-5 | 0.436 |
| 17 | Hialeah | 2-5 | 0.420 |
| 18 | Blanche Ely | 1-7 | 0.371 |
| 19 | South Plantation | 1-8 | 0.368 |
| 20 | Everglades | 0-7 | 0.286 |
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: St. Thomas Aquinas – No. 1
7A-15: Miramar – No. 3
7A-16: Homestead – No. 2
PROJECTED REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS
No. 8 Atlantic (Delray) vs. No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas
No. 5 Doral Academy vs. No. 4 Fort Lauderdale
No. 6 Dillard vs. No. 3 Miramar
No. 7 South Broward vs. No. 2 Homestead
QUICK THOUGHTS: With three of the four district champions locked in place, St. Thomas Aquinas is now in control of the No. 1 seed for the region while Homestead slips to the No. 2 seed. Dillard falls from the No. 2 seed to the No. 6 seed after their loss to St. Thomas Aquinas last week.
