Football · Preview · Class D1

Class D1 bubble watch (projected): Tri County last in; Centura win now NSAA official (after Thursday)

Projected Class D1 after Thursday: Centura 50–14 St. Cecilia now NSAA official; Tri County last in; Alma first out. Scout 10:53 a.m. CT Friday, Oct. 23.

By · Updated
NEBPrepsLive AI editorial illustration · Not a photograph of this game

Eligibility: Conestoga (D1(INELIGIBLE) (classification PDF)); Freeman (D1(INELIGIBLE) (classification PDF)); David City (D1(INELIGIBLE) (classification PDF)); Falls City (D1(INELIGIBLE) (classification PDF)); Johnson County Central (D1(INELIGIBLE) (classification PDF)); Fairbury (D1(INELIGIBLE) (classification PDF)). These schools cannot take a projected playoff place. Regular-season results still count for opponents' points. Cite: NSAA 2026–27 Football Classifications PDF · Scout eligibility rebuild 10:53 a.m. CT Friday, Oct. 23.

Class D1's eligibility-filtered cut after Thursday: Tri County (6-2, 39.75) is last in, and Alma (5-3, 39.125) is first out. 7 district champs + 9 wild cards. Points-order top 16 is a PROXY.

Centura beat Hastings St. Cecilia 50–14 on Thursday — now NSAA schedule export official (was tip in the 9:02 a.m. pack). Centura sits inside the broader projected top 16 after that result.

PROJECTED after Thursday — not official NSAA seeds. Data as of 10:53 a.m. CT Friday, Oct. 23 (NSAA points page 23 Oct 2026 10:51:20 am CDT). Friday opponents unplayed only — no invented win/loss averages.

Team Rec Pts Elig # Status
Elkhorn Valley6-340.666712In
Ponca5-340.62513In
Amherst5-340.2514In
Cross County5-340.2515In
Tri County6-239.7516Last in
Alma5-339.12517First out
Pender4-438.87518Out
Class D1 teams near the playoff line on projected wildcard points after Thursday, eligibility-filtered (Scout rebuild 10:53 a.m. CT Friday, Oct. 23). Status text (not color alone) marks In / Last in / First out / Out. Source: NSAA schedules/points + Scout pack. Static chart image pending redraw — numbers above match the interactive JSON; do not treat any Oct. 21 chart art as this projection. Classification PDF: https://nsaa-static.s3.amazonaws.com/textfile/fbl/2627class.pdf.

Eligible field Nos. 12–16

Elkhorn Valley (6-3, 40.6667, No. 12) — No Friday game left (or finished). Ponca (5-3, 40.625, No. 13) — Friday: visits Pender (unplayed). Amherst (5-3, 40.25, No. 14) — Friday: visits Alma (unplayed). Cross County (5-3, 40.25, No. 15) — Friday: visits Cedar Bluffs (unplayed). Tri County (6-2, 39.75, No. 16) — Friday: hosts Thayer Central (unplayed).

Just outside

Alma (5-3, 39.125, No. 17) — Friday: hosts Amherst (unplayed). Pender (4-4, 38.875, No. 18) — Friday: hosts Ponca (unplayed).

What to watch Friday

Ponca visits Pender. Amherst visits Alma. Cross County visits Cedar Bluffs. Tri County hosts Thayer Central. Alma hosts Amherst. Pender hosts Ponca.

7 district champs + 9 wild cards. Points-order top 16 is a PROXY. The points-order Nos. 12–18 are a wild-card watch list after eligibility filtering — not a promise that the No. 16 team on raw points is the No. 16 seed on Selection Day.

How the math works

Win values 50/47/44/41 and loss values 36/33/30/27 by division, averaged across counted games. Playing up adds 2/3/4. District champs are safe where the format uses them; wild cards fill the rest by points among eligible schools only.

/playoffs · Wildcard Watch (eligibility note) · After-Thursday Wildcard Watch.

Sources

Elkhorn Valley team center → · Ponca team center → · Amherst team center → · Cross County team center → · Tri County team center → · Alma team center → · Pender team center →

Nebraska football scores and schedules → · Football playoff tracker →

Share this story