Football · Playoff Guide · All Classes
Nebraska Football Playoffs 2026: Brackets, Schedule and Fan Guide
Your 2026 Nebraska high school football playoff guide: this week's round, all eight class brackets, the playoff calendar, state finals at Memorial Stadium and Cope Stadium, admission and how to watch.
This week at a glance
- Now: First round, Friday, Oct. 30. All 64 games in all eight classes.
- Next: Quarterfinals, Friday, Nov. 6 (kickoff times TBA), then semifinals Friday, Nov. 13.
- Finals: D3 and D6 on Friday, Nov. 20, in Kearney; A, D1 and D2 on Monday, Nov. 23, and B, C1 and C2 on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
Full Round 1 schedule and kickoff times → · Playoff scores →
Find your class
Every class has a 16-team bracket with seeds, game centers and results as they come in.
Playoff calendar
- First round: Friday, Oct. 30. Kickoff times for all 64 games are in the Round 1 schedule.
- Quarterfinals: Friday, Nov. 6. Times TBA.
- Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 13. Times TBA.
- Friday, Nov. 20, UNK Cope Stadium, Kearney: Class D3 and Class D6 finals. Kickoff times pending (NSAA documents list different times).
- Monday, Nov. 23, Memorial Stadium, Lincoln: D2 at 10:15 a.m., D1 at 2:45 p.m., A at 7:15 p.m.
- Tuesday, Nov. 24, Memorial Stadium, Lincoln: C2 at 10:15 a.m., C1 at 2:45 p.m., B at 7:15 p.m.
Dates and times from the NSAA playoff and finals schedules (playsched.pdf, finalssched.pdf). All times Central. State finals page →
Find your game
- Round 1 schedule: all 64 matchups and kickoff times →
- Playoff scoreboard →
- Each game has a Game Center with the matchup, site and result. Open your class bracket above and tap the game.
Tickets, venues and watching
- Admission (NSAA manual): first round, quarterfinals and semifinals are $8 for adults and $6 for students. State finals are $10 for adults and $7 for students.
- Where games are played: through the semifinals, the host school and the NSAA pick the site, and the host contacts the visiting school about parking and seating.
- Ticket links: pending from NSAA.
- Bag policy, parking and 2026 finals fan information: pending from NSAA.
- Watch the finals: Nebraska Public Media (NPM) live webcast, per the NSAA football page.
How the playoffs work
Each of the eight classes plays a 16-team, single-elimination bracket: first round, quarterfinals, semifinals and the state final. Teams qualify like this (NSAA manual):
- Class A: No districts in Class A for 2026-27. The 16 teams with the highest regular-season point average qualify.
- Class B: Districts B-1, B-2, B-3 (geographic): champion + 2nd + 3rd place qualify (9). District B-4 (Emerging): champion only (1). Plus the 6 highest point averages among teams that did not finish 1st-3rd in their district = 16. Teams from District 4 (Emerging) are not eligible for wildcard qualification.
- Class C1: The 6 district champions and the 10 teams with the highest regular-season point average that did not finish as district champions = 16.
- Class C2: The 6 district champions and the 10 teams with the highest regular-season point average that did not finish as district champions = 16.
- Class D1: The 7 district champions and the 9 teams with the highest regular-season point average that did not finish as district champions = 16.
- Class D2: The 6 district champions and the 10 teams with the highest regular-season point average that did not finish as district champions = 16.
- Class D3: The 7 district champions and the 9 teams with the highest regular-season point average that did not finish as district champions = 16.
- Class D6: The 16 teams with the highest regular-season point average qualify. D6's 7 districts are for scheduling purposes only, so there are no district-champion berths.
Hosting: in Classes A through D3, the higher seed hosts through the semifinals. Class D6 uses its own rule: the higher point average hosts the first round; after that, if one team hosted its last game and the other was the visitor, the previous visitor hosts. The finals are at neutral sites. Night games default to 7 p.m. and afternoon games to 1:30 p.m. unless the teams agree otherwise.
Stories to follow
Make your predictions
Fill out a bracket for any class and pick a champion. Saved brackets are scored as real results come in (10 points per correct first-round pick, 20 for quarterfinals, 40 for semifinals, 80 for the final), and each class shows a fan leaderboard and its most-picked champion once enough brackets are saved.
Official bracket update: NSAA seeds and point averages were checked Oct. 24. The reporting below retains its original source snapshot; use the current bracket for the latest field and points.