Bracket breakdown: Expanded playoffs, yea or nay?

An obvious question after the inaugural opening-round of the Illinois football playoffs would be, “Was this a good idea?”

The IHSA expanded the field from 32 to 48 teams per class, which meant the top 16 seeds got byes, while some teams that finished 3-6 or 2-7 battled it out on the field.

There were some non-competitive games in the opening round, no doubt, and more lie ahead. At the same time, plenty of teams proved to be better than their record showed, especially those from strong conferences like Glenbard North, St. Charles East, St. Francis and Nazareth.

There were competitive games between pretty good teams, like Naperville Central vs. Warren, for example; and at least one big surprise — 2-7 Rolling Meadows advancing past Addison Trail.

Whether or not expansion was the right move should be based on student-athlete experience. Maybe the best opening-round example might be Reavis vs. Elgin, two teams that had gone more than a decade without a playoff win. It was a fun game featuring two fourth-quarter lead changes and a late defensive stop, before Reavis won 31-28.

Granted, the Rams aren't likely to be competitive this week against East St. Louis. But under the old format, Reavis would have missed the playoffs, while Elgin would have gone straight to East St. Louis, taken some lumps and gotten back on the buses. At least this way, Reavis got a playoff win, a chance to celebrate and hopefully some nice memories.

That's just one example, but it shows there are positives to playoff expansion. If it helps, just think of it as adding a 10th game for most schools.

This week's contests will be known as Round 1, just to keep it consistent with past years, so let's breakdown the updated brackets:

Class 8A

Game of the week: Barrington at Sandburg. In Week 1, the Broncos traveled south with high expectations for the season but got a rude awakening in a loss to Lyons. Barrington started 0-4, used four quarterbacks because of injuries, but has now won six in a row and feels like a formidable challenge for the No. 22 Eagles.

Team to beat: Still Mount Carmel, as long as the Caravan keep playing like they did in Week 9 at Loyola.

Looking ahead: Top seed Lincoln-Way East will likely play a Round 2 road game at Hinsdale Central, which would guarantee the Griffins playing at home for a potential quarterfinal showdown against Mount Carmel.

The bottom part of this bracket is also interesting, with potential Round 2 matchups of St. Ignatius at Maine South, and surging York at Loyola.

Bold predictions: Lane Tech advances to Round 2. Oak Park-River Forest keeps it competitive against Lincoln-Way East.

Class 7A

Game of the week: Glenbard East at Kenwood. This feels like a toss-up. Kenwood took some lumps early in the season but demonstrated improvement by playing Morgan Park close in the Red Division title game. The Rams were mistake-prone in the early weeks, then picked up some decent wins late.

Team to beat: Brother Rice or East St. Louis, flip a coin; or go with Hersey if that coin lands on its side.

Looking ahead: Batavia vs. Brother Rice in the second round could be a blowout, but it could also be an epic point fest. The second round is way too early for Downers Grove North vs. St. Rita.

Bold predictions: Jacobs will have its hands full against Glenbard North. After a last-second win over Benet last week, Moline will not find late-game luck at Glenbard West.

Class 6A

Game of the week: Joliet Catholic at Wheaton Warrenville South. WW South is a team of the future, with just six senior starters, that arrived ahead of schedule. Like most every team in the Catholic League, Joliet Catholic's record (6-4) is a product of its schedule, with the four losses coming against Fenwick, Providence, Mount Carmel and IC Catholic Prep. The Tigers finished third in the DuKane Conference, so they also know tough competition.

Team to beat: Geneva has the offensive weapons. Receiver Bennett Konkey got an Ohio State offer last week, but he visited Champaign on Saturday and said he remains committed to Illinois.

Looking ahead: This bracket is way too top-heavy. Arguably 10 of the 16 best teams in 6A are in the top half of this grid.

Bold prediction: The JCA-WW South winner ends up downstate.

Class 5A

Game of the week: St. Francis at Kaneland. The host Knights have been rolling all season, with the only loss to Interstate Eight champ Morris. It's fair to say Kaneland is a contender for the 5A title. St. Francis, meanwhile, is the defending 5A champ, went 4-5 against a killer schedule and has plenty of college-level talent. So it's also fair to suggest the Spartans are a strong favorite in this matchup.

A close second in this category is Providence at Kankakee. The Kays had a fourth-quarter lead against Lincoln-Way East in Week 2.

Team to beat: Undefeated Mahomet-Seymour is clinging to that title and may not get a true test for a few weeks.

Looking ahead: This bracket is too unbalanced. Kankakee has to play Providence this week, and the winner gets probably Morgan Park in the next round? There are other quadrants where none of the four teams are as good as those three.

Bold prediction: Two Public League teams, Morgan Park and King, advance to Round 2.

Class 4A: Still feels like the top half of this bracket will be decided in Round 2 with a potential Montini at Morris game.

Class 3A: It will take a few weeks for 3A to get interesting, when unbeatens Byron and Richmond-Burton get a chance at IC Catholic Prep.

Class 2A: Aurora Christian (8-1) is probably the Chicago-area team with the best chance to make noise here.