[Hoot Gibson]

How does a team thats 1-9 earn playoff spots? Also how does a 70 pt loss make teams better at the end of the season?

You are asking the wrong question. The question is why should teams be required to earn playoff spots? Other Kentucky high school teams are not banned from the playoffs, so why should Kentucky's football playoffs be any different? Reserves play most of those 70 point games, so it is an extra week of practice and an extra game of experience that the losing team would not otherwise have.

The extra practice and games of teams that advance deep into the playoffs get each season is an advantage that would be even bigger if you rob half of the current playoff teams of those extra weeks of practice.

I have already explained a few other reasons why making teams qualify for playoffs is a bad idea but I will repeat them again. Even young, inexperienced teams who are well coach often struggle early in the season. If you eliminate those teams from the playoff picture after am 0-4 or 0-5 start, then the ability of coaches to motivate players to continue to practice hard and improve becomes much more challenging. Goals are important and taking them away before the season ends makes no sense.

Another reason that making teams "earn" their way into playoffs, such as Ohio does, is that it discourages teams from scheduling tough opponents because losses can keep them out of the playoffs. Consequently, a team like Indy Cathedral can afford to load its schedule with large out of state schools like Trinity, Elder, and Moeller, and larger in state powerhouses like Warren Central, without worrying about what losses might do to their playoff chances. States that have systems that ensure teams playoff spots "earn" their, such as Ohio, effectively discourage teams from playing schedules like Cathedral does because losing to larger schools with better teams might knock them out of playoff contention.

There is no evidence that screening teams out of the playoffs improves the quality of football players or teams in any state. If restricting playoffs doesn't make players and teams better, then what is the point?