How to Read a Tournament Football Bracket for Football

While tournament brackets might be more well identified with college basketball, other sports, including football, use brackets to display their playoff match-ups. A tournament football bracket can help you to follow the playoffs and understand how teams advance. You can also complete your own bracket to predict the winners of each round.

Instructions

    • 1

      Look for the list of all of the teams participating in the tournament. In a league with two or more divisions or conferences, like the NFL, the bracket will show the participating teams on the far right and left sides. In a league where all teams are seeded without divisions, the participating teams appear on the far left side.

    • 2

      Look for numbers beside the team name. A single number represents the ranking of the team in its league or conference, and can determine both the current and future opponent as well as home-field advantage. Two numbers separated with a dash indicate the team's win/loss record during the season.

    • 3

      Track the progress of each team and the possible opponents each team may face using the lines that merge from each match-up. The name of the team winning that game will appear again on the line immediately beside the game, and will be paired with the name of its opponent in the next round. The game result may also be written in the space between the two teams. You can also track possible future opponents by looking at the lines that extend from other early-round match-ups.

    • 4

      Track the progress of a multiple-conference format by watching the teams advance toward the center of the bracket. The eventual champion's name or the final score of the championship game may be printed in the center of the bracket.

    • 5

      Track the progress of a tournament without divisions or conferences by watching teams advance to the right side of the bracket. The eventual champion's name will be printed in the single line to the far right of the bracket.