[OrangenowBlue]

The only Ohio Valley state that ranks below Kentucky in football is West Virginia. Kentucky teams are competitive with Indiana teams along the border but Indiana's powerhouse teams are mostly in the Indy area (Warren Central, Center Grove, Carmel, Ben Davis, Bishop Chatard, Cathedral, etc.), which play few games against Kentucky teams. Trinity and St. X are the only Kentucky teams that would be consistently competitive with the big Indy schools.

The biggest Indy 5A schools have enrollments that dwarf Kentucky schools, they are very talented, and they are well coached. All else being equal, it is hard to compete with schools having a large enrollment advantage consistently.

I am not very familiar with Illinois football, but my guess is that it ranks right behind Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The consistent pattern is the best states have the largest populations.