California high school football playoffs: Dates, brackets, schedule - USA Today

The 2026 high school football postseason is right around the corner for California.

The Golden State kicks off its playoffs for the entirety of the state over the next couple of weeks. The state also features some of the best talent in the nation.

Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) remains the No. 1 overall team in the USA TODAY Sports Super 25, which would give them the top overall seed in a hypothetical College Football Playoff-like bracket for the high school level.

With the postseason featuring the best of the best in California, that means many players who are top recruits for colleges will be in action.

The 2026 California high school football playoffs kick off on Friday, Nov. 6, for most sections in the state. However, the playoffs for the CIF Southern Section Division 1 begin one week later on Friday, Nov. 13.

California high school football playoff games can be streamed on the NFHS Network. Here's how to watch each section on NFHS.

Five total teams from California reside inside the USA TODAY Sports Super 25 heading into Week 12 of the high school football season.

Those five teams make up five of the top six teams in the West Super 15 region. Other teams in the top 15 from California to keep an eye on in the postseason are: Folsom and Centennial. 

The rest of the team can be found here.

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