How much does home field advantage mean in the first round of the playoffs?
Depends on who you ask, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Home teams in the first round should feel pretty good about their chances, but there are some upsets every year — at least seeding-wise — lurking in the shadows.
Let’s look back at the past three years of this current classification cycle:
- Home teams in the first week of the 2019 playoffs (Division II-AAA had that week off):
- Class 1A: 13-3
- Class 2A: 13-3
- Class 3A: 11-5
- Class 4A: 14-2
- Class 5A: 12-4
- Class 6A: 13-3
- DII-A: 3-1
- DII-AA: 7-1
- Total: 84-22 (.792)
- Home teams in the first week of the 2018 playoffs:
- Class 1A: 12-3
- Class 2A: 13-3
- Class 3A: 11-5
- Class 4A: 11-5
- Class 5A: 14-2
- Class 6A: 13-2
- DII-A: 4-0
- DII-AA: 8-0
- DII-AAA: 2-1
- Total: 88-21 (.807)
- Home teams in the first week of the 2017 playoffs:
- Class 1A: 13-2
- Class 2A: 14-2
- Class 3A: 13-3
- Class 4A: 12-4
- Class 5A: 10-6
- Class 6A: 11-5
- DII-A: 3-1
- DII-AA: 8-0
- DII-AAA: 1-2
- Total: 85-25 (.773)
Three-year total: 257-68 (.791)
There’s a good reason to like your chances if you’re at home.
Meanwhile, catch up on what you might have missed from Thursday:
- Tennessean
- COVID contact tracing shrinks TSSAA football playoff rosters
- First-round playoff games canceled by COVID-19
- TSSAA announces its 2020 Tennessee Titans Mr. Football semifinalists
- TSSAA releases tentative football regions for 2021, 2022
- TSSAA football championship predictions from our experts
- Daily News Journal
- What to know about area teams in TSSAA playoffs
- Williamson Home Page
- TSSAA announces 2020 Mr. Football semifinalists, handful of WillCo athletes on deck
- Main Street Preps
- TSSAA sets initial football regions for 2021, 2022 seasons
- TSSAA announces 2020 Tennessee Titans Mr. Football semifinalists
- Southern Middle Tennessee Sports
- MOSTRADAMUS SPEAKS: FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS