High school football fans are a different breed–they’d literally give their all for this game. They know the game; they watch the grind, and they definitely won’t stay quiet when rankings don’t add up. So when ESPN dropped their Top 25 for Week 18, the streets went absolutely feral. Mater Dei sitting pretty at No. 1? Cool, no complaints there. They’ve been undefeated all season and just smacked De La Salle 35-17 in the California State Championship. Dash Beierly dropping 355 yards and three touchdowns like it’s nothing? Yeah, Mater Dei earned that crown.

But beyond the Monarchs, ESPN’s Top 25 went off the rails. North Crowley’s upset over Duncanville shook things up, no doubt. The Panthers snuck into the top four after a nail-biting 36-34 victory and are now gearing up for their first state last appearance since 2003. Meanwhile, the Milton Eagles and Carrollton Trojans are both knocking on the door of a national title, with Georgia state finals lined up this week. Those squads? Yeah, they deserve the hype and top 5 ranks.

After that, though? ESPN’s rankings turned into a straight-up comedy. The teams are literally holding the spots they didn’t earn, other squads are low-key ignored, and fans aren’t having it. You can’t watch a team like St. Frances Academy wipe the floor with IMG Academy and still see IMG ranked higher. You can’t leave out Cocoa after their solid season. The math just ain’t simply mathing.

The fans went crazy over ESPN’s diabolical list

On December 16th, ESPN’s Underclassmen Report dropped the Top 25 on IG, and it was like throwing a lit match into a gas tank. Fans flooded the comments like they were ready to suit up and play the teams themselves. First up? De La Salle.

“DLS got slapped by Mater Dei and doesn’t move? C’mon bra😂.” The disrespect wasn’t to De La Salle—they’re a powerhouse program, no question—but how can you get blown out 35-17 and still sit in the same spot you’ve held all season? Fans were a bit frustrated. Like, “Respectfully, y’all got folded. Why are you still here?” Well, this one’s a bit exceptional. They low-key gave a tough dog-fight to the Monarchs before they got folded like origami. W in the chat for Raul Lara for getting revenge on the Spartans.

Then there’s Cocoa High. The Tigers have been ballin’ in Florida, sitting No. 8 statewide with an 11-3 record. Look, they ain’t top 10, but they deserve to be in the top 25, though. Yet somehow, “Cocoa not on here and they been ranked fa lord knows how long now.” Bruh, fans are big-time fed up. It’s like ESPN said, “Florida football? Never heard of her.”

And don’t even get started on IMG Academy and St. Frances. SFA literally embarrassed IMG, bullying them with a 30-3 blowout, and yet somehow ESPN still has IMG ranked over SFA. Fans were straight-up confused: “SFA blows out IMG and they still ranked over them 😂🤦🏽‍♂️.” Like, let’s just take a minute. SFA ran through IMG like a hot knife through butter—30 to freakin’ 3. That’s not just a win; that’s a statement. But nah, ESPN said, ‘We don’t care. 11th for IMG sounds about right.’ Make it make sense.

And one fan commented, “Edna karr is literally 26 in this list.” Same dawg, no idea. What ESPN was smokin’ while making this list? The Cougars are 14-0, and yet somehow got robbed by ESPN. And of course, there was this one fan who spoke on behalf of the entire high school football community with a universal response: “W-f.”

Fans aren’t just mad—they’re right. Look, these rankings are supposed to showcase the best high school teams in the country, but ESPN looks like they were throwing darts at a board blindfolded. You can’t ignore teams like Cocoa, disrespect St. Frances, and let De La Salle coast after a blowout loss. High school football fans know the game too well to let that slide. At the top, Mater Dei remains the king, North Crowley deserves their flowers, and Milton and Carrollton are making their cases. But after that? The list is literally cooked.