3 Playoff Bubble Team X-Factors

Photo: Prep Redzone

Tyler Graham October 4, 2024 @ 08:01 AM

<p>Through 5 weeks, we have some teams that are safely in the playoffs, and there are some that are teetering on the edge, needing a great few weeks to vault themselves into the playoff field! In this article I'm going to highlight some players on those bubble teams that will need to play their best to help their team into the playoffs in 2024! </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Grandville </h2>   <p>Grandville is the last team into the D1 playoffs right now, by just .4 points. After starting 0-3 against very good competition, they have now notched 2 wins to vault themselves back up into the field by the narrowest of margins. Their X-Factor for the next few weeks is going to be their all-star RB [player_tooltip player_id='206418' first='Jayden' last='Terry']. The Grandville ground game is their bread and butter, and with an incredible back like Terry, they will definitely want to lean on him a ton to get through the next few weeks. Terry has the sweet mix of athleticism, speed, agility and stamina to punish a defense for 4 quarters. They have 4 solid teams coming up, so they will need to get some big wins over good competition to hold their position in the D1 playoff field. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">West Bloomfield</h2>   <p>I was somewhat surprised to see West Bloomfield sitting 36th in points in Division 1 at this point in the season, but it speaks to the crazy nature of their schedule. Looking at their schedule for the rest of the season, it's not going to be an easy road. I think the guy they're really going to need at his absolute best is QB [player_tooltip player_id='247643' first='Beau' last='Jackson']. West Bloomfield has an outstanding amount of talent on offense, but they will need the leadership and consistency from Jackson to vault themselves into the playoffs. Beau has the arm talent and pocket movement to extend plays and get the ball to his playmakers. If Beau can be the steady leader when things get difficult-which they will over the coming weeks- I don't see why West Bloomfield won't make it. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Marquette </h2>   <p>Despite a 4-1 start, Marquette sits just a couple of points outside of the top 32 of the Division 2 playoffs. After watching his mid-season highlights and reading what my counterpart Alex had to say, I think QB [player_tooltip player_id='1529466' first='Ford' last='Richardson'] could be the X-Factor for Marquette moving forward. Ford has a good arm and solid accuracy, and I like seeing his ability to get out and run a big when he needs to, but it's not his first instinct. For a 2026, he really seems to be in control and confident in everything he does, which makes me very excited for his future. I'll be keeping an eye on him and Marquette for the rest of the season!</p>

Through 5 weeks, we have some teams that are safely in the playoffs, and there are some that are teetering on the edge, needing a great few weeks to vault themselves into the playoff field! In this article I'm going to highlight some players on those bubble teams that will need to play their best to help their team into the playoffs in 2024!