Aug. 5 marks the opening of Illinois High School Association football practice across the state, and Week 1 games are set to kick off in about two weeks.
On Oct. 17, the eight-class, 384-team field will be announced for the 2026 edition of the football playoffs. Here are a dozen questions and answers to consider ahead of the 2026 season.
1. What’s the new IHSA football playoff format?
The IHSA member schools approved in December to expand the playoff field from 256 teams to 384. The IHSA added 16 teams to each of football’s eight playoff classes, meaning the 16 teams with the best records in each class receive opening round byes. Those opening rounds games are slated for Oct. 23-24.
2. Why does practice begin on a Wednesday instead of the usual Monday?
This comes from the playoff expansion and a way for programs to “prioritize safety.” Each player is required to complete 12 days of on-field practices — 1.5 hours per player per practice required — before they are eligible to play. If the practice started on Monday, Aug. 10, players would have had only nine practices prior to Week 1 games.
3. What’s the Week 1 schedule look like in the Peoria area?
Peoria High hosts Richwoods, while Richmond Burton is at Peoria Notre Dame and Manual heads to Lincoln.
The Mid-Illini Conference features Metamora at Sterling, Morton at Mahomet-Seymour and Wheaton North at Washington. The small schools have Tremont at Eureka, Stockton at El Paso-Gridley and Princeville goes to Illini West.
4. What’s the Mid-Illini Conference outlook?
Washington is the reigning three-time league champ, going 21-0 in Mid-Illini play since 2023. The Panthers should be the favorite until they lose. However, Morton, Dunlap and Metamora will also be in the race. Don’t forget Pekin, which could be 4-0 going into a Week 5 meeting with Washington. Also, those five teams all made the playoffs in 2025.
5. Who are the frontrunners for Journal Star Player of the Year?
The Journal Star will release its annual “Dandy Dozen,” previewing the top 12 players in the Peoria area for 2026. About half of those players will make a serious case for player of the year.
6. Who are the returning Peoria-area playoff teams from 2025?
Last season, there were 20 teams that made the 2025 playoffs. Those were Pekin, Dunlap, Washington, Morton, Peoria High, Peoria Notre Dame, Metamora, Macomb, Princeton, Olympia, Monmouth-Roseville, Illini West, Farmington, El Paso-Gridley, Princeville, Stark County, Annawan/Wethersfield, Rushville-Industry, Knoxville and Deer Creek-Mackinaw.
7. What does Soren Fifer’s senior schedule look like?
Fifer, the three-star offensive lineman and Illinois commit, comes into his final prep campaign after choosing the Fighting Illini over 10 other Power 4 scholarship offers. Morton opens at Mahomet-Seymour, then plays Chicago Heights Marian followed by Canton, Washington, Dunlap, East Peoria, Limestone, Pekin and Metamora in Week 9.
8. What’s the Big 12 Conference outlook?
The 11-team league featuring schools from Peoria, Bloomington-Normal and the Champaign area had six playoff teams in 2025. Peoria High is the reigning league champion. But Normal Community, Normal West, Peoria Notre Dame, Bloomington and Champaign Centennial will all look to contend during the eight-game league schedule.
9. How good will El Paso-Gridley be in 2026?
The Titans are coming off a record-setting 2025, making a run to the Class 2A state semifinals with a 12-1 record. Coach Tanner Benedict welcomes back a slew of offensive weapons led by all-state quarterback Owen Adams and plenty of defensive contributors. EP-G opens by hosting Stockton, a 2025 Class 1A state semifinalist, in Week 1.
10. Who is the 2026 sleeper team in central Illinois?
Dunlap. The Eagles, who were a Class 6A quarterfinalist, lost a lot to graduation, including Mack Sutter to Alabama. But the cupboard is far from bare for coach Brett Cazalet. He has all-conference players Jayden Schmick and Kingston Smith back along with baseball standouts Eli Michanicou (Bradley) and Ryder Rennette out for the first time.
11. When do Metamora and Washington play?
Week 7. After the last four seasons of playing in Week 3, the Mid-Illini Conference schedule has shuffled. The rivals now play in the final one-third of the season, meeting at Washington’s Babcook Field. The Panthers, who won 24-0 last season, are on a five-game winning streak in the series, improving their all-time Mid-Illini regular season series to a 23-21 lead.
12. When are the 2026 IHSA state championships?
The eight state title games are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28. State championship games in Class 1A-4A will be played on Friday, while the Class 5A-8A titles wrap up the season on Saturday. Hancock Stadium on the Illinois State University campus is in Year 4 of a five-year contract.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 12 burning questions for the 2026 Illinois high school football season
Reporting by Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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By Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
