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The sad part is that the FHSAA could compete. These schools are clamoring for competitive play more than anything else, and the FHSAA system does not foster that. Look at the teams that are moving to the SSAA; most of them have not been competitive in the FHSAA system. I believe that kids, communities, parents, coaches, and administrators want to play in competitive games, not blowouts. I don't think MegaElite High School intends to play a non-Elite high school in a district game any more than the non-Elite high school does. I think the program and the sport grow when games are competitive — even if both teams are not very good — rather than playing running clock games. Sometimes running clock games happen, and there is nothing you can do about it. But when they happen because they are forced during the regular season by a system that continually creates running clocks, it becomes frustrating for everyone involved. The FHSAA needs to be willing to rip the band-aid and create a promotion/relegation system. I would bet most of the teams in the SSAA would be in 1A or 2A, where they would face similar schools. At the top of the pyramid, we would have 32 genuinely competitive teams, with no guarantee that school X, Y, or Z will win the state championship. While I haven't done the research yet, I imagine all the teams that played at FIU would probably be in Class 6A (top level) in my promotion/relegation league. Even if that was the Elite 8 of a playoff, would anybody be willing to guarantee a victory for one of the teams? 

Here's what I don't understand about people who say we need bigger classes. They often point to Georgia, Georgia's classes range from 79 (for the smallest schools) to 58 (for the largest schools).    Actually, I am willing to bet that most states don't have classifications with 100 team classes. I think some of the answers are a little simpler, decrease the number of classes per region to 3 (especially if we are using a rating system instead of district champs/runner-ups). This accomplishes the goal of larger districts, ensures the best teams get in, and doesn't water it down. This is where I make my promotion/relegation pitch, but I will save it for next week once the classifications/MaxPreps rankings are done for the year. 

I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t have a  “neutral observation” reading their comments lol

I truly hope they revamp the selection process of the open division and also get rid of the double elimination idea. As lazy as the FHSAA is, they should have a committee to select the teams(8 best) based on W-L, SOS, etc. Not this norm of letting a computer pick. I've been following football for a long time, and I have yet to see a computer "watch" a game. The state that Florida football is in now, they need a "tough" playoff bracket. It's too many watered down brackets where of 32 teams you pretty much know what 2-4 teams will be last standing. It would also help if you have a team in MNC contention with boosting their resume. And when it comes to the double elimination factor, who does that in football? Like really? If anything go to 16 teams, at least you will have 4 solid rounds of football IMO.

Here's how points are awarded. 5 pts State Title; 4 points (co-title); 2 points State Runner-up; 1 point State Semi Final loss. The all-time point totals by county are as follows: Dade 367 Broward 316 Palm Beach 269 Duval 245 Polk 204 Hillsborough 161 Leon 153 Brevard 132 Orange 100 Escambia 95 Alachua 77 Okaloosa 76 Manatee 69 Sarasota 65 Madison 56 Marion 55 Pinellas 51 St. John's 50 Collier 40 Volusia 40 Gulf 35 Jefferson 32 Calhoun 30 Sumter 25 Suwannee 25 Union 24 Osceola 23 Seminole 23 Jackson 22 Santa Rosa 21 Bradford 20 Hendry 20 Lake 20 Lee 19 Indian River 18 Levy 18 Bay 17 Highlands 17 Wakulla 17 Gilchrist 16 Gadsden 15 Columbia 13 St. Lucie 12 Putnam 11 Clay 10 Walton 10 Holmes 9 Lafayette 9 Pasco 8 Taylor 8 Franklin 7 Hardee 6 Liberty 6 Washington 6 Dixie 5 Baker 4 Charlotte 4 Glades 4 Hamilton 4 Monroe 4 Citrus 2 Martin 1 Nassau 1 DeSoto 0 Flagler 0 Hernando 0 Okeechobee 0 Now let's break it down by population. Here are the point totals reflected as Points per 1,000 people. SUPER (1 million & Up) 2025 pop. Pts per 1K pop. Points since 1963 Duval 1055159 0.232 245 Palm Beach 1582055 0.170 269 Broward 2037472 0.155 316 Dade 2838461 0.129 367 Hillsborough 1581426 0.102 161 Orange 1533646 0.065 100 X-LARGE (500K-999,999) 2025 pop. Pts per 1K pop. Points since 1963 Polk 852878 0.239 204 Brevard 658447 0.200 132 Volusia 602772 0.066 40 Pinellas 965870 0.053 51 Lee 860959 0.022 19 Pasco 659114 0.012 8 LARGE (300K to 499,999) 2025 pop. Pts per 1K pop. Points since 1963 Leon 300488 0.509 153 Escambia 331275 0.287 95 Manatee 458352 0.151 69 St.Johns 334928 0.149 50 Sarasota 476604 0.136 65 Marion 428905 0.128 55 Collier 416233 0.096 40 Osceola 468058 0.049 23 Seminole 494605 0.047 23 Lake 444204 0.045 20 St.Lucie 390670 0.031 12 MEDIUM (150K to 299,999) 2025 pop. Pts per 1K pop. Points since 1963 Okaloosa 220483 0.345 76 Alachua 291782 0.264 77 Sumter 154693 0.162 25 Indian River 172139 0.105 18 Santa Rosa 207653 0.101 21 Bay 199718 0.085 17 Clay 236760 0.042 10 Charlotte 212122 0.019 4 Citrus 170174 0.012 2 Martin 165666 0.006 1 Hernando 218150 0.000 0 SMALL (50K to 149,999) 2025 pop. Pts per 1K pop. Points since 1963 Columbia 73977 0.176 13 Highlands 109778 0.155 17 Putnam 77301 0.142 11 Walton 89666 0.112 10 Monroe 80908 0.049 4 Nassau 104376 0.010 1 Flagler 136744 0.000 0 MINIATURE (20K to 49,999) 2025 pop. Pts per 1K pop. Points since 1963 Gilchrist 20233 0.791 16 Bradford 28075 0.712 20 Suwannee 47536 0.526 25 Wakulla 37115 0.458 17 Jackson 49980 0.440 22 Hendry 46130 0.434 20 Levy 47765 0.377 18 Taylor 21843 0.366 8 Gadsden 44151 0.340 15 Hardee 26068 0.230 6 Washington 26503 0.226 6 Baker 29325 0.136 4 Okeechobee 42369 0.000 0 DeSoto 36744 0.000 0 TINY (1 to 19,999) 2025 pop. Pts per 1K pop. Points since 1963 Madison 18364 3.049 56 Calhoun 13278 2.259 30 Gulf 15876 2.205 35 Jefferson 15921 2.010 32 Union 15738 1.525 24 Lafayette 8640 1.042 9 Liberty 7955 0.754 6 Franklin 12979 0.539 7 Holmes 19876 0.453 9 Glades 13132 0.305 4 Dixie 17614 0.284 5 Hamilton 14334 0.279 4