Football guide
How Minnesota high school football playoffs work (2026 MSHSL calendar)
Minnesota football playoffs are easier if you keep two tracks straight: section tournaments for most classes, and a statewide Class 6A bracket that starts earlier.
Classes
MSHSL football runs 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A, and 9-player. On Sideline MN’s 2026 board that is 403 football programs with loaded finals (counts by class on rankings).
To read a bracket you need the school’s class and, for non-6A teams, its section number.
Section tournaments (5A through 9-player)
Teams in a class are grouped into geographic sections. Pairings are published on MSHSL tournament pages; Sideline MN merges those seeds onto Football brackets.
A common eight-team shape:
- Quarterfinals (top seeds may have byes)
- Semifinals
- Section championship
Example from our Oct. 27, 2026 load - Section 7, Class 5A (MSHSL source):
| Seed | Team | Opening round |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monticello | Bye |
| 2 | Elk River | Bye |
| 3 | Cambridge-Isanti | Bye |
| 4 | St. Francis | vs Duluth East |
Section champions advance to the state tournament. Last date for section contests in 2026: Nov. 6 (MSHSL Football).
Class 6A (AAAAAA)
Class 6A is a 32-team single-elimination state tournament. MSHSL publishes it as the 2026 State Class AAAAAA Football Tournament. Opening rounds are labeled by section pods (our load has Section 3, 4, 5, and 6 pods).
There is no separate “win a section, then wait for state” step for 6A. A late-October 6A game is already part of the state bracket.
Example, Section 6 pod (first round on our board):
| Seed | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mounds View | #8 Hopkins |
| 2 | Eden Prairie | #7 Farmington |
| 3 | Woodbury | #6 St. Michael-Albertville |
| 4 | White Bear Lake Area | #5 Wayzata |
2026 state calendar
From MSHSL Football:
| Window | Dates | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Season begins | Aug. 17, 2026 | - |
| First available contest | Sept. 3, 2026 | - |
| Last date for section contests | Nov. 6, 2026 | High seed / section sites |
| State quarterfinals | Nov. 12–14, 2026 | Various sites |
| State semifinals | Nov. 19–21, 2026 | U.S. Bank Stadium |
| Prep Bowl (finals) | Nov. 27–28, 2026 | U.S. Bank Stadium |
| End of season | Nov. 28, 2026 | - |
Prep Bowl day split (MSHSL tickets): Friday A, AA, AAAA, AAAAAA; Saturday 9-Player, AAA, AAAAA. Stadium sessions list 10:00 a.m. starts (U.S. Bank Stadium). Hub: Prep Bowl 2026.
Kick times, sites, and tickets: always MSHSL first if anything conflicts with this page.
On Sideline MN
- Brackets — seeds and results from MSHSL tournament pages
- Rankings — margin-capped Elo by class (not a poll)
- Team pages — 2026 schedule and record for each tracked program
Not affiliated with MSHSL. Public scores and bracket data only.