ACC Conference updating tiebreaker system for 2026 after Duke debacle
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There has been a lot of uproar about the teams that made the College Football Playoff, specifically because Notre Dame was left out and two Group of Five schools made the postseason instead. The issue stemmed from the fact that Duke made the conference championship game, and not only did they make it, but they won it, despite having five losses.
The ACC football tiebreakers created a lot of issues for the College Football Playoff committee. Because of the problems, they announced they are updating their tiebreaker policy. The tiebreaker policy will have issues because most of the conference is playing nine games, while a few are playing eight. That requires a change, but it has a chance of only complicating things more.
In 2026, Cal, Duke, Louisville, Miami, NC State, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are all playing nine conference games. Then, Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina are all playing eight games, which will only cause issues.
Then, in 2027, the conference is going to a full nine-game schedule, and they are calling 2026 a “transition” season for the conference, which is why only 12 of the 17 are playing that many.
Because the ACC has an odd number of teams, one school will play eight league games each season starting in 2027, and that will rotate through the conference.
It is also worth noting that Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Louisville all have annual rivalries with the SEC. Only Louisville AD Josh Heird said his school is eager to play a strong schedule each season; the other three initially said no to the lack of scheduling flexibility that would come with a nine-game conference slate and an annual nonconference game against their SEC rival.
Then, Clemson also scheduled an annual series against Notre Dame that starts in 2027, meaning that any year in which the Tigers are slated for nine ACC games, they’d be guaranteed at least 11 games vs. Power Four opponents.
The ACC was a mess in football this season, and if things get figured out, then Miami goes to the ACC title game and most likely wins it. In that scenario, only Tulane would have made the College Football Playoff, and Notre Dame would have gotten in over James Madison instead of being snubbed.
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