2024 STORYLINES TO FOLLOW: FHSAA playoff power rankings will shift more toward MaxPreps rankings

After complaints from coaches, a shift towards using MaxPreps official rankings is coming this season as margin of victory will become a factor for the FHSAA playoff power rankings

Welcome to the 2024 Florida High School Football season with practices now underway around the state! We will present a plethora of storylines over the coming days that will impact the 2024 season as part of our 2024 Storylines To Follow series and we will update this as we go through the days and weeks leading up to kickoff of the 2024 season!

FHSAA PLAYOFF POWER RANKINGS WILL SHIFT MORE TOWARD MAXPREPS RANKINGS

If you thought we could just straight up look at the MaxPreps rankings to determine the playoff seedings, you might want to slow your roll just a bit.

That is because while the FHSAA is shifting more to the MaxPreps rankings that we see online, we have been told that there is one thing that is going to keep the rankings more in line towards relying on the FHSAA to post them each week during the season, most likely starting after Week 4 or Week 5, and it boils down to something that might be minute for many but could be huge for a team that needs it.

It all comes down to forfeits, which is why things will be slightly different than what is on MaxPreps itself.

While forfeits do not happen often each season, there are always a few that will come up, and from close sources to FloridaHSFootball.com, we have been told that MaxPreps’ rankings do not go back and retroactively take in forfeits. As such, the FHSAA wants to make sure forfeits are considered fully.

With the addition now of margin of victory, having a forfeit that gets reported as 2-0 does not have the same effect on ranking, especially getting the full benefit of a forfeit victory as does a game that is 35-0.

Nonetheless, the margin of victory is now going to be a major part of the FHSAA MaxPreps Power Rankings and should bring things more in line with teams who should be in the playoffs versus the old FHSAA Power Rankings that did not use margin of victory at all over the last couple of seasons.

It will be interesting to see how the changes to the playoff power rankings will improve seeding for the FHSAA State Series playoffs come November.

MORE IN THE 2024 STORYLINES TO FOLLOW SERIES

• New classifications will set tone

• How many defending state champions will be able to repeat?

• SSAA moves to 10-game schedule

• FHSAA playoff power rankings will shift more toward MaxPreps rankings

• Rural classification taking on new playoff format in test

• Where are the FHSAA State Championships going to be played at?