As the FCIAC Championship for football approaches, there is a lot of hectic debate about who the second team will be. As of now, the two teams projected to play in the championship are Staples and Darien, and if both teams win this week, then they will play one another at McDougal Stadium in Trumbull on November 19.

However, there is a way for Trumbull, Darien, and New Canaan to be in a three-way tie for second place.

The way the FCIAC standings work is pretty complicated. It’s not based directly on records, it is based on a points system which works as follows:

For every win, a team earns themselves 100 points. Additionally, that team gets 10 points for every win a team they have beaten gets.  Then, that total is divided by the amount of games the team has played. So right now, Staples has 990 points, and because they have played 8 games, the team’s net total is 133.33.

So for this three way tie to work out, a lot of specific things have to happen.

First of all, Darien must lose its game against Norwalk. This is the most crucial part of the weekend because it’s the only game that would really be an upset.

Along with Darien’s loss, here’s everything else that must ensue for a three-way tie:

1. Ridgefield must beat Wilton
2. Danbury must beat Warde
3. New Canaan must beat Bridgeport Central
4. Westhill must beat Fairfield Ludlowe
5. Stamford must beat Trinity
6. Greenwich must beat St. Joeseph’s
7. Harding must beat Bassick
8. Last but not least, Staples must beat Trumbull

As complicated as this seems, most of these match-ups are projected to happen anyway. The only games that are really up for grabs are the New Canaan vs. Central game and the Greenwich vs. St. Joe’s game.

Along with this scenario, there are also ways for Trumbull to finish in front of Darien, even if the Blue Wave finishes with a perfect record. Additionally, there are possibilities that New Canaan and Darien could be tied for second, and ways that Trumbull and Darien could be tied as well.

But let’s get this straight. The winner of the Staples/Trumbull game ultimately clinches a spot in the championship, and if Darien wins then they clinch as well. There are also possibilities for Trumbull to play Staples in the rematch of the century but then a whole bunch of other things have to happen and I’ll pass out if I have to look at any more possible scenarios.

This is way messier than it should be. Or Darien could just win and then nothing would really be a problem.