It's automatic every Tuesday during the high school football season. Football fans from all corners of the state login to their computers hoping the school they are loyal to moved up in the rankings, took over the top spot, or simply made the climb into the ratings.
But what about the national rankings? Oh, what a coup that would be to find your alma mater alongside traditional powers Westbrook (Texas), May (Texas) or Abbott (Texas). Heck, landing a Top 100 ranking would be pretty cool, too.
Well, this week we did the work for you. Scouring through the MaxPreps national computer rankings, we unearthed the current MaxPreps national ranking for each member of Nebraska's Top 10 6/8-man football teams.
Top-ranked Hitchcock County and No. 2 Howells-Dodge, the top two teams in Class D2, represent the Cornhusker State in the nation's Top 25 at No. 5 and No. 13 respectively. Sitting third in Nebraska is Stanton, the top-ranked club in Class D1. The Mustangs squeeze into the Top 50 at No. 31 while Class D1's No. 2 squad North Platte St. Patrick's sits fourth in Nebraska and claims the No. 47 spot nationally.
Ranked third in Class D2, Sandhills/Thedford rounds out the Nebraska Top 5 on the 51st rung in MaxPreps' Ratings. Each member of the Nebraska Top 10 is ranked in the Top 80 nationally out of the 1,966 schools that are ranked in MaxPreps' National 6/8/9-man rankings.
Teams from Classes D1 and D2 played their way into this week's Top 10. But that does not mean that schools from Class D6, the Cornhusker State's 6-man classification, don't belong among the nation's elite programs.
Sumner-Eddyville-Miller, Class D6's top-ranked squad, sits 143rd nationally in those same rankings while No. 2 Potter-Dix is 149th. Arthur County is in the Top 200 at 172nd.
As you browse through this week's Top 10, listed on the top line is the school, its won-loss record in parenthesis, the collective won-loss record of the school's opponents and the scoring differential for the school. The second line is reserved for the school's MaxPreps power rating while the third line lists each school's class, state and national rating.
The fourth line and beyond informs our readers who the school's next opponent is. Tuesday's rankings were used for this week's Top 10.
Where Nebraska's Top 10 6/8-man football teams rank nationally
1. Hitchcock County (Trenton) (9-0) | Opponent Won-Loss Record (38-40) | Scoring (424-46)MaxPreps Rating (80.3)
No. 1 Class D2 | No.1 Nebraska | No. 5 Nationally
Next Game: Friday at Trenton against Humphrey St. Francis in the second round of the Nebraska Class D2 State Football Playoffs.
2. Howells-Dodge (Howells) (9-0) | Opponent Won-Loss Record (41-38) | Scoring (454-88)MaxPreps Rating (74.3)
No. 2 Class D2 | No. 2 Nebraska | No. 13 Nationally
Next Game: Friday at Howells against South Loup in the second round of the Nebraska Class D2 State Football Playoffs
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3. Stanton (9-0) | Opponent Won-Loss Record (33-45) | Scoring (521-130)MaxPreps Rating (64.9)
No. 1 Class D1 | No. 3 Nebraska | No. 31 Nationally
Next Game: Friday at Stanton against Ravenna in the second round of the Nebraska Class D1 State Football Playoffs.
4. St. Patrick's (North Platte) (9-0) | Opponent Won-Loss Record (40-39) | Scoring (497-112)MaxPreps Rating (60.0)
No. 2 Class D1 | No. 4 Nebraska | No. 47 Nationally
Next Game: Friday at North Platte St. Patrick's against Sandy Creek in the second round of the Nebraska Class D1 State Football Playoffs.
5. Sandhills/Thedford (Dunning) (8-1) | Opponent Won-Loss Record (43-35) | Scoring (402-136)MaxPreps Rating (59.2)
No. 3 Class D2 | No. 5 Nebraska | No. 51 Nationally
Next Game: Friday at Thedford against Central Valley in the second round of the Nebraska Class D2 State Football Playoffs.
6. Central Valley (Greeley) (8-1) Opponent Won-Loss Record (37-39) | Scoring (458-177)MaxPreps Rating (58.0)
No. 4 Class D2 | No. 6 Nebraska | No. 56 Nationally
Next Game: Friday at Thedford against Sandhills/Thedford in the second round of the Nebraska Class D2 State Football Playoffs.
7. Elm Creek (8-1) | Opponent Won-Loss Record (36-41) | Scoring (429-208)MaxPreps Rating (56.7)
No. 5 Class D2 | No. 7 Nebraska | No. 60 Nationally
Next Game: Friday at Ainsworth against Ainsworth in the second round of the Nebraska Class D2 State Football Playoffs.
8. South Loup (Arnold) (6-3) | Opponent Won-Loss Record (50-29) | Scoring (394-176)MaxPreps Rating (54.4)
No. 6 Class D2 | No. 8 Nebraska | No. 73 Nationally
Next Game: Friday at Howells against Howells-Dodge in the second round of the Nebraska Class D2 State Football Playoffs.
9. Thayer Central (Hebron) (8-1) | Opponent Won-Loss Record (34-42) | Scoring (428-151)MaxPreps Rating (54.3)
No. 3 Class D1 | No. 9 Nebraska | No. 74 Nationally
Next Game: Friday at Hebron against Nebraska Christian in the second round of the Nebraska Class D1 State Football Playoffs.
10. Dundy County-Stratton (Benkelman) (8-1) | Opponent Won-Loss Record (33-45) | Scoring (382-121)MaxPreps Rating (53.7)
No. 7 Class D2 | No. 10 Nebraska | No. 79 Nationally
Next Game: Friday at Benkelman against Johnson-Brock in the second round of the Nebraska Class D2 State Football Playoffs.
