GHSA’s PSR formula tempts state title contenders to make 9-game schedules

The Georgia High School Association’s decision to seed all bracket sports with a points formula next year has motivated some football coaches to schedule only nine regular-season games.

The new Postseason Ranking Formula seeds all 32 playoff teams based off their entire regular season, a stark difference from the former model that seeded teams by their success in region play. The formula requires football teams to play at least nine games — they have traditionally played 10 — to earn postseason eligibility.

Some of Georgia’s strongest traditional winners will do just that next season. Grayson, Lee County, Worth County and Prince Avenue Christian are among the notable teams with nine games listed on the GHSA’s football schedule for the 2026-2027 season.

Prince Avenue Christian coach Jon Richt said a lack of suitable and willing competitors caused him to take the shorter schedule.

“The hard part is nobody wants to play games that they think they might lose, because at the end of the day, if you lose, it kills your power rankings,” Richt said.

Richt said he tried for months to schedule a 10th game for the Wolverines, who have won three state championships in the last six years. But few teams around Prince Avenue Christian’s size wanted to play the Class 2A powerhouse.

Several Class 6A and Class 7A schools contacted Richt about a 10th game. Big school teams can greatly benefit from playing good teams from smaller schools because it’s an opportunity to beat a team with a high winning percentage, which boosts PSR rankings.

“We’ve got teams calling us that … honestly, Prince Avenue really has no business playing those schools,” Richt said. “But they’re calling us because they need games, and they’re willing to play us.

“At the same time, it’s one of those things where we’ve got to protect our guys. But then you go call 2A, 3A, 4A, even some 5A schools, and they’d rather not play.”

Richt said he turned down several Class 6A and 7A suitors because the difference in roster depth was too great.

“We’ve got a lot of great players, but trying to protect our team for the long run, being able to make a playoff run and all that stuff depends on the guys that you’ve got on your sideline by the time that comes around,” Richt said.

Prince Avenue Christian will have one less potential loss than many of its Class 2A competitors, but there are several downfalls to playing nine games. Richt has one less game to learn about his team before taking them into the postseason. Prince Avenue Christian’s players have one less game to impress college recruiters and accumulate statistics for end-of-the-year accolades.

The Wolverines will have two Fridays off between their first and second games of the season. Prince Avenue Christian will open against Thomson on Aug. 21 and won’t play again until a Sept. 11 matchup with Greater Atlanta Christian.

As the leader of a Class 6A powerhouse, Milton coach Ben Reaves also considered the nine-game schedule. Reaves had nearly 40 coaches turn him down as he struggled to find four nonregion games to fill out a 10-game schedule.

“That kind of sent the message that everybody’s looking for a team they feel like they can beat,” Reaves said.

Milton’s seven-team region also made it more difficult to find a 10th nonregion game later in the season.

“Whenever you really start getting into the nuts and bolts of it, there’s only a handful of teams statewide that’s going to need nonregion games in mid-September, right?” Reaves said. “Some of the bigger regions, they need one or two, and boom, they’re good.

“So that also made scheduling difficult like, ‘Alright, who of these people that need a game in mid-September is also in an upper classification and also could potentially be a favorable PSR opponent?’”

From a strategic standpoint, Reaves considered the extra week of rest and preparation that a nine-game schedule offered. But he ultimately decided the nationally ranked Eagles could still benefit more from a tough 10th game.

“Ultimately what changed my mind was I just reminded myself that we’re in the business for the kids,” Reaves said. “And it’s not fair, especially to the seniors, to say, ‘Hey, you’re only going to get nine games this year. Trust me, it’s for the best.’”

Milton found its 10th game at Battle Ground Academy, one of the highest-ranked teams in Tennessee. The Eagles will have a bye week after the game before opening region play at Johns Creek on Sept. 25.

Elite out-of-state opponents can fill that void for some teams better than others. For Richt, playing a nationally ranked team from Tennessee was no different from playing a nationally ranked Class 7A team from Georgia.