List: How classifications rank against each other

Are there too many classifications? Are private schools playing too low in class? Below is the average rating of football teams in each GHSA classification using the computer Maxwell Ratings. The first list is the average of all teams in each class. The second is the rating of the top 15 in each clas. The difference in rating number represents points in a football game. For example, the average Class 7A team (70.1) is about 12 points better than the average 6A team (58.1), according to Maxwell. Three takeaways are: (1) Classes 4A and 3A, and 2A and A Private, are virtually equal in strength; (2) the average Class 6A team is 7.2 points better than the average 5A team, but the top 15 teams in those classes are about the same, meaning their state titles are equally difficult to win despite 6A’s greater depth; and (3) the largest nine private schools, which play in classes 2A to 5A, are actually better than Class 7A teams on average (73.1 to 70.1), but they are not nearly as good as the best teams in 7A or 6A. A playoff among the big nine would be more comparable to one in classes 4A or 3A. The GHSA this fall will consider separating the largest private schools from public schools for the state playoffs beginning in 2022-23, while private schools are proposing a plan that would move football and other sports teams up or down based on their track record.

All teams

70.1 - 7A