BUCKHANNON – I haven’t said much about the WVSSAC this year, but if on takes a second to look at their football playoff ratings, which you can find here, one can’t have any reaction but to shake their head.

Since they were hellbent on having four classes, it has really made a huge difference in who is going to make the playoff field. You probably have noticed that all 16 teams in Quad A are playoff bound. How absurd is that? That means 1-7 Musselman, which has been outscored by 223 points in eight games, is going to get to claim 2024 as a playoff year. And despite having the worst record in AAAA, they are ranked 13^th out of 16 teams because of the recent decision by the SSAC to add bonus points based on a team’s strength of schedule to their playoff rating.

Now that ruling, which gives teams playing a tough schedule, bonus points whether they win or lose is a good thing in my book. Under the old ways, you only got points for beating a team and the teams they beat. Losing always netted you zero points. This new system is much better rewarding teams that play a good schedule.

Just take a look at what it has done for B-U. Based on the bonus points per the schedule, the Bucs have the toughest slate in Class AAA and third toughest schedule overall among all classes. I bring up the Bucs, because despite not winning a game, they are 25^th out of 31 teams, and ahead of two teams, Berkley Springs and St. Albans, who have two wins, but weaker schedules.

I say this because of B-U’s opponent this week, the Preston Knights. I am not picking on the Knights; they are just a product of the system that has been put in place by the SSAC. They are 2-6 and yet are sitting just outside the playoff bubble at No. 19. Since when is a 2-6 Preston or a 1-7 Musselman being playoff bound or potentially playoff bound heading into week 10 of the season acceptable?

Again, not picking on either team, but when the SSAC went to four classes, which left as I said just 16 teams in Quad A, but 31 in AAA, 30 in AA and 35 in A which means over half the teams in two of the three classes are going to get in. In all, 64 of the 112 high school football teams will make the playoffs. It really makes the regular season almost pointless when 60 percent of the teams make it. Might as well make it like most other sports and just have a sectional and/or regional tournament.

People will argue that it’s good that more athletes will have the opportunity to make it to a playoff game, but we all know how those end. The No. 1 team beats the No. 16 team by a 65-0 score. Not sure how great of a memory that would be. Common sense should have told then SSAC to reduce the playoff teams in each class to eight instead of 16, but that will never, ever happen. The SSAC isn’t going to lose out on the playoff cash cow of 16 post season games.