Five takeaways from the first release of 2023 FHSAA football playoff rankings

The hype around Tuesday's drop of the FHSAA rankings was high, and it marked that the postseason is almost here.

Every Tuesday, the FHSAA will release updated rankings until the regular season ends Nov. 3. Those rankings are used to determine who's in and who's out of the playoffs.

And let's just say, these rankings were full of surprises.

Playoff Rankings: What would the FHSAA brackets look like if the playoffs started today?

Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's rankings release:

1. Good thing this is the first set. These rankings are crazy.

The rankings put out by the FHSAA on Tuesday further confirm that their formula values winning over anything. The prime examples? Fort Meade is No. 1 in Class 2S when it has played teams with a sub-par strength of schedule, while Miami Central, which has lost to a pair of top-five teams in the country in Bishop Gorman (Nev.) and Chaminade-Madonna, is sitting at 74th statewide.

Everyone that knows the landscape of high school football across Florida knows that Central is a top 10 team statewide at worst. The formula valuing winning could very well influence teams to schedule easier competition in order for a higher seeding. That's currently the case for Barron Collier and Mariner, which are both 5-0 and 80th and 109th respectively statewide. The Cougars have a -5.26 strength of schedule, while Mariner's is -7.43.

It's also worth mentioning that the first set of rankings put forth by the FHSAA is the wackiest and wildest. There are six more weeks for these to shift and correct themselves. If you want a better sense of where teams stand, MaxPreps is a far better indicator.

2. As expected, Bishop Verot is No. 1 in Southwest Florida

The FHSAA, MaxPreps, and The News-Press/Naples Daily News rankings agree that the Vikings are the top team in SWFL. The Vikings are ranked 20th statewide, and third in Class 2S behind Fort Meade and Walton, teams who somehow have better strength of schedule ratings than Verot.

For perspective, Verot is second in Class 2S in the MaxPreps set, while Fort Meade is 12th and Walton is 11th in the class. Their strength of schedules combine to amount to 1.0, while Bishop Verot's is 16.0. The good news for Verot is that four teams they've already beaten in Port Charlotte, Dunbar, Lehigh (forfeit), and First Baptist should be favored to win in most of their games the rest of the way. Between those four teams, there's likely only four losses remaining combined, which should boost Verot's stock to a degree.

3. Golden Gate has big leads over Naples, Barron Collier, Dunbar in 3S

The Titans beating Naples has shown huge implications thus far, as Nick Bigica's team is ranked 29th statewide and first in Class 3S-Region 4 by 41 spots over Naples. Golden Gate has the head-to-head win over the Golden Eagles and could be in a firm position to have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs if the team wins out the rest of the way. Two huge games against First Baptist and Barron Collier await, and then the schedule softens up a tad for the rest of the regular season.

The Cougars are right behind Naples at 80, while Dunbar is sitting at 83rd. The Tigers may have some catching up to do, but Sammy Brown's squad knows it'll have to beat South Fort Myers to capture the Class 3S-District 15 crown. This is a good first drop for Barron, despite it having a bottom 40 strength of schedule. If the Cougars can finish the regular season with eight wins, Mark Jackson's team should be in. Anything lower than that though, and Barron might be stressing a little bit on Selection Sunday.

4. Community School takes the top spot in 1S; First Baptist still firmly in contention

Of all teams in Class 1S, the Seahawks of Community School are the top-ranked team, having won each of their games this season. The teams they've beaten are: AFI Junior Irish Wolfhounds, SFCA (354th), Oasis, and Northside Christian (101st). The Sharks are in the Sunshine State Athletic Association, while the Wolfhounds cannot be measured because they are not in the continental United States.

One head-scratcher was how First Baptist has an 8.56 strength of schedule, which is inside the top 20 statewide, but played a team not in the FHSAA along with two teams in Estero and True North Classical, who have respective strength of schedule ratings of -1.41 and -1.86. Bishop Verot's rating is the highest the Lions have seen to this point, which is 1.69.

That example might be the most obvious, but it highlights a larger problem. Cocoa, having played Orlando Jones, Venice, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Eau Gallie, has a lower strength of schedule rating (8.08) than that of the Lions.

A perk of playing in a class with just 25 teams? There isn't much room to fall. The Lions may be 2-2 right now, but First Baptist is in the thick of it to repeat, especially with Trinity Catholic ranked 263rd statewide and sitting at 1-3. Cardinal Mooney, another firm contender in the class, is ranked 142nd.

5. Gulf Coast and Immokalee are poised to make the playoffs; Lehigh, Riverdale fighting for an automatic playoff berth

Class 4S-District 16 was a one-bid district a season ago, making last year's game between Gulf Coast and Immokalee an epic showdown for a spot in the playoffs. The Sharks came out on top in that game, but right now, both teams could be poised to snag a playoff berth. Gulf Coast is ranked third in the region behind Manatee and Riverview, while Immokalee is sitting at seventh with a sizeable amount of breathing room between them and Lakewood Ranch.

Why that matters? Lehigh and Riverdale, both ranked outside the top eight, will be guaranteed a playoff berth based on whoever captures the district title. Whoever wins could effectively steal a bid from Lakewood Ranch in this hypothetical, as they'd be the first team out despite being ranked inside the top eight.

Rankings

20. Bishop Verot (3rd in 2S)

27. Community School (1st in 1S)

29. Golden Gate (6th in 3S)

70. Naples (12th in 3S)

80. Barron Collier (13th in 3S)

83. Dunbar (14th in 3S)

98. First Baptist (3rd in 1S)

108. Estero (16th in 2S)

109. Mariner (16th in 3S)

165. Gulf Coast (30th in 4S)

191. Fort Myers (28th in 3S)

192. South Fort Myers (29th in 3S)

203. Cape Coral (31st in 3S)

237. Immokalee (39th in 4S)

277. Evangelical Christian (15th in 1S)

Follow Southwest Florida Sports Writer Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: FHSAA football rankings: Bishop Verot, CSN, Golden Gate atop first set