As the ACC football regular season was coming to a close last fall, there was a lot of discussion on who was going to play in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte on the first Saturday in December.
In the end, the team that many believed was the best, Miami, did not make it to the title game. Mainly because of losses to Louisville and SMU. In the end, Virginia and Duke made it there, with the Blue Devils winning a tiebreaker with SMU, Georgia Tech, Miami, and Pittsburgh at 6-2. The Cavaliers were 7-1.
There was a lot of displeasure in South Florida with how the process played out. I would say, then beat Louisville at home or close out SMU on the road, and it isn't an issue. However, they got into the College Football Playoff and made a run to the National Championship Game. However, this offseason, the ACC tweaked its tiebreakers for the 2026 season.
ACC announces football tiebreakers for 2026 season
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips kicked off ACC media days on Wednesday in Charlotte by speaking to the media. He announced what the new tiebreaker rules are going to be for determining who plays in the title games this December. There is an unbalanced schedule this season with some teams playing nine ACC games and other eight.
The updated tiebreaking procedure will be built on three guiding principles,
- Head-to-head results will always matter most.Â
- No team will be overly rewarded or penalized based on the number of conference games it played.Â
- When head-to-head competition cannot separate tied teams, the team with the strongest overall body of work will earn the opportunity to compete for the ACC Championship and the conference's automatic qualifier to the College Football Playoff.Â
Of course, head-to-head is always going to matter, but the odd number of conference games teams are playing feels like it could be an issue. The strongest body of work makes sense, and if for some reason Virginia Tech is in the mix, well, their body of work will be right up there with anyone else in the conference.
There would be some road wins, which would be considered huge wins. Road games at California, SMU, Clemson, Miami, and SMU are only going to give the Hokies an impressive résumé if they collect enough wins.
A lot has to go right for that to happen, but with a new college football season here and James Franklin in charge in Blacksburg, expect the unexpected this fall.
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