CLASS D3 PLAYOFF BRACKET
2026 NSAA 8-man football playoffs · 16 teams · state final Fri. Nov. 20 · 1:00 PM CT · Kearney
NEB Preps Projected Bracket
as of Oct. 16, 11:07 a.m. CTOur projection, not the official bracket. It applies Class D3's qualifying rules to the NSAA's own wildcard point standings. NSAA releases the real brackets after Week 9 — expected Sat. Oct. 24–25, 2026 (NSAA has not announced an exact release time). #1 seed: Lawrence-Nelson (8-0).
Higher seed listed first. Select a game for details; unassigned matchups link to team schedules.
Tied leads: which co-leader gets the district seat is projected.
Pick the Class D3 champion
Tap teams to fill out all 15 games, then share your bracket. Locks Fri, Oct 30, 1:30 PM CT. Picks made now use the projected field.
BUILD YOUR BRACKET →Scoring: 10 pts per first-round winner, 20 per quarterfinal, 40 per semifinal, 80 for the champion.
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The leaderboard opens once first-round games go final.
KEY DATES · QUALIFYING · SOURCES
- Wildcard cutoffWeek 9 · Oct. 22–24
- Brackets releasedExpected Oct. 24–25
- First roundFri. Oct. 30
- QuarterfinalsFri. Nov. 6
- SemifinalsFri. Nov. 13
- State finalFri. Nov. 20 · 1:00 PM CT · Kearney
Kearney final; official sources disagree on the stadium name. Awaiting NSAA confirmation.
Higher seed hosts through the semifinals. NSAA wildcard points cover regular-season games Fri. Aug. 21 through Fri. Oct. 23, 2026 (Week 9).
The 7 district champions and the 9 teams with the highest regular-season point average that did not finish as district champions = 16.
Seeds 1-16 go strictly by NSAA point average; district champions are guaranteed a spot, not a top seed. "Tied (projected)" marks equal averages or district records that NSAA tiebreakers will settle.
Projected district places use district record, then point average. The NSAA's full tiebreakers (head-to-head, overall record and more) aren't applied, so close districts can change.
Official sources: NSAA Class D3 bracket · NSAA wildcard points · NSAA district leaders · NSAA football
BUBBLE WATCH · NSAA WILDCARD POINTS Top 24 standings · Tied for last spot (proj.): Southern Valley
| # | School | Rec. | Avg. | Projected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lawrence-Nelson | 8-0 | 45.63 | #1 (D3-1) |
| 2 | Central Valley | 6-1 | 45.00 | #2 (D3-4) |
| 3 | Archangels Catholic | 6-1 | 44.14 | #3 (D3-2) |
| 4 | Dundy County Stratton | 5-2 | 43.43 | #4 (D3-7) |
| 5 | Brady | 7-0 | 43.14 | #5 (D3-6) |
| 5 | Pleasanton | 6-1 | 43.14 | #6 (D3-5) |
| 7 | Burwell | 6-1 | 42.43 | #7 (WC) |
| 7 | Cambridge | 6-1 | 42.43 | #8 (WC) |
| 7 | Twin Loup | 6-1 | 42.43 | #9 (WC) |
| 10 | Deshler | 5-2 | 42.00 | #10 (WC) |
| 11 | Falls City Sacred Heart | 5-2 | 41.86 | #11 (WC) |
| 12 | Wynot | 5-2 | 41.71 | #12 (WC) |
| 13 | Wausa | 6-1 | 41.43 | #13 (D3-3) |
| 14 | Guardian Angels Central Catholic | 5-2 | 40.43 | #14 (WC) |
| 14 | Leigh | 6-1 | 40.43 | #15 (WC) |
| 16 | Anselmo-Merna | 5-2 | 40.00 | #16 (WC) |
| 16 | Southern ValleyTied for last spot (proj.) | 5-3 | 40.00 | — |
| 18 | St. Mary's | 4-3 | 39.86 | — |
| 19 | Blue Hill | 4-3 | 39.14 | — |
| 20 | Osceola | 3-4 | 39.00 | — |
| 21 | Boyd County | 5-2 | 38.86 | — |
| 22 | Clarkson | 3-4 | 38.00 | — |
| 23 | Weeping Water | 3-5 | 37.00 | — |
| 24 | Elgin Public-Pope John | 3-4 | 36.86 | — |
Top 24 of 41 by point average, copied from the NSAA. District code = projected district qualifier, WC = wildcard. Ties share a rank; tied teams are seeded here in NSAA list order, while the NSAA breaks ties by head-to-head, then strength-of-schedule steps.
How NSAA wildcard points and seeding work
Every Nebraska football playoff bracket has 16 teams, and wildcard points decide who fills the at-large spots and where every qualifier is seeded.
Each regular-season game earns points based on the opponent's record. In a nine-game season, a win over a first-division team (7-2 or better) is worth 50 points. Second division (6-3, 5-4) is worth 47, third (4-5, 3-6) 44, and fourth (2-7 or worse) 41. Losses still earn 36, 33, 30 or 27. Playing a school one, two or three classes higher adds 2, 3 or 4 bonus points; playing down costs nothing. The score doesn't matter: a 7-6 win counts the same as 50-0.
Divide total points by games played to get the point average. Only the first meeting with an opponent counts, points stop at the end of the regular season, and out-of-state opponents are converted to a Nebraska class by enrollment.
Qualifying depends on the class:
- Class A and six-man D6 take the top 16 by points.
- Class B takes the top three from each of its three geographic districts, the emerging-district champion and six wildcards.
- C1, C2 and D2 take six district champions plus 10 wildcards.
- D1 and D3 take seven district champions plus nine wildcards.
All 16 are seeded by point average (1 vs. 16, 8 vs. 9, and so on). In every class except D6, the higher seed hosts through the semifinals. Ties in point average go to head-to-head if two tied teams met, then strength-of-schedule steps, then a coin flip.
