2014 toughest high school football playoff brackets in the nation

The postseason has begun throughout the nation. Let's take a look at the teams that have the toughest road to a state championship, as MaxPreps reveals the nation's toughest high school football playoff brackets.

Click here to see playoff brackets from across the nation

1. California Southern Section Pac 5
Defending Champion: St. John Bosco (Bellflower)
Favorite: St. John Bosco
Sleeper: JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano)
Teams in the Top 50: Seven
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Many playoff brackets open with first-round blowouts. The Pac 5 bracket has titanic opening-round matchups like Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) vs. Crespi (Encino), Long Beach Poly vs. Servite (Anaheim) and Centennial (Corona) vs. Serra (Gardena). St. John Bosco finished the Trinity League gauntlet undefeated, but JSerra Catholic gave the champs a tough game before losing 49-44.

2. Ohio OHSAA I
Defending Champion: Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati)
Favorite: St. Edward (Lakewood)
Sleeper: Hudson
Teams in the Top 50: Five
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Ohio is already one week into the state playoffs with only one major upset so far. Top-seeded Centerville lost to Lakota West in the first round on one side of the bracket, but 12 other higher seeds won their openers. St. Edward is not technically the favorite, but it has the history and is the top-rated team in the MaxPreps Computer Rankings. Hudson is the No. 1 seed on the top half of the bracket and could face St. Edward in the semifinals.

3. Texas UIL 6A-I
Defending Champion: Allen
Favorite: Allen
Sleeper: DeSoto
Teams in the Top 50: Three
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Allen is the clear favorite to win the state title for the third-straight season. Allen won the Class 5A-I crown in 2012 and 2013 and will now play in the new 6A-1 classification. The biggest threat might come in the second round where Allen could face DeSoto. Allen and DeSoto bounced back and forth for the No. 1 ranking in Texas by the MaxPreps Computer Rankings for most of the season before DeSoto fell to Cedar Hill. Regardless, an Allen-DeSoto matchup in the second round could easily rank as the top game in the entire bracket.

4. Texas UIL 6A-II
Defending Champion: Cedar Hill
Favorite: Carroll (Southlake)
Sleeper: Brennan (San Antonio)
Teams in the Top 50: Three
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Some might argue that Class 6A-II is tougher than class 6A-I in Texas. Both brackets have three teams ranked in the top 50 of the MaxPreps Computer Rankings and Guyer (Denton) and Carroll (Southlake), currently the No. 2 and 3 ranked teams in the state, are playing in the Class 6A-II playoffs. Carroll might be the favorite here, considering it played in the Class 5A-I playoffs last year, but don't count out Brennan (San Antonio), which is ranked No. 4 out of the top teams in the bracket behind Carroll, Guyer and Midway (Waco).

5. New Jersey NJSIAA Non-Public 4
Defending Champion: Paramus Catholic
Favorite: Paramus Catholic
Sleeper: St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City)
Teams in the Top 50: Four
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Paramus Catholic suffered its first loss of the year to St. Joseph Regional (Montvale) in the final game of the regular season, but St. Joseph Regional competes in the Non-Public Group 3 playoffs and will not face Paramus Catholic in the postseason. There's still plenty of tough teams, though, as four of the teams in the seven-team bracket are ranked among the top 50 in the nation by the MaxPreps Computer Rankings. St. Peter's Prep is the wild card here, since its only loss was to IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) and it has a win over Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.).

6. Mississippi MHSAA 6A
Defending Champion: Oak Grove (Hattiesburg)
Favorite: Starkville
Sleeper: South Panola (Batesville)
Teams in the Top 50: Two
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Winner of the Class 5A state championship in 2012, Starkville has made an impressive transition to Class 6A with a No. 1 ranking in the state. Starkville doesn't get an easy opponent in the first round, however, as it plays returning runner-up Tupelo. South Panola has eight state titles since 2003 with the last one coming in 2012.

7. Tennessee TSSAA II-AA
Defending Champion: Ensworth (Nashville)
Favorite: Ensworth
Sleeper: McCallie (Chattanooga)
Teams in the Top 50: Two
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The playoffs are already into the second round, although most teams in the bracket had a bye. Five of the state's top nine teams are still alive. After losing to McCallie midway through the season, Ensworth has won four in a row and has regained its status as the tournament favorite. McCallie suffered losses to Brentwood Academy and Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville), but it has a win over Ensworth.

8. Louisiana LHSAA I
Defending Champion: Archbishop Rummel (Metairie)
Favorite: Archbishop Rummel
Sleeper: Curtis (River Ridge)
Teams in the Top 50: One
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There are only 12 teams in this entire bracket, but it represents many of the top teams in the state, including Curtis (River Ridge), Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport), Archbishop Rummel (Metairie) and Catholic (Baton Rouge). Seven of the top 12 teams in the state are playing in the Division I bracket. Archbishop Rummel is the favorite since it is the defending champion. However, Curtis has a long history of winning state titles. It moves up to Division I after winning the Division II state title in 2013.

9. Pennsylvania PIAA 4A
Defending Champion: St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia)
Favorite: La Salle College (Wyndmoor)
Sleeper: Easton
Teams in the Top 50: One
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There aren't a lot of Class 4A teams in the MaxPreps Top 50 Computer Rankings, but the bracket has over 70 teams competing. That means the trek to the championship could include seven games for some teams, nearly a whole season. St. Joseph's Prep was the favorite at the beginning of the year, but it ran into some trouble early in the season. La Salle College, despite two losses, is the top-ranked team in the class. Easton has been among the top-ranked schools in the state all season long and could be the team to watch.

10. Georgia GHSA 6A
Defending Champion: Norcross
Favorite: Colquitt County (Moultrie)
Sleeper: Valdosta
Teams in the Top 50: One
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Nine of the top 11 teams in the state complete in Class 6A, but Colquitt County is the only one of those teams that is undefeated. Valdosta, the winningest program in American history, could add to its lore with a state title, its first since 1998.