ACC title game tiebreaker rewards 'body of work'

Andrea AdelsonJul 15, 2026, 10:24 AM ET

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ACC reporter.

Joined ESPN.com in 2010.

Graduate of the University of Florida.

CHARLOTTE -- After a five-way tie for second place put Duke in the ACC championship game over higher-ranked Miami last season, a new tiebreaker policy was announced Wednesday in a move that commissioner Jim Phillips described as getting the league to the "right place" to feature its two best football teams.

A change was also needed because the league is shifting to a new nine-game conference schedule this year. Because of previously scheduled nonconference games, 12 teams will play nine ACC games and five will play eight conference games in 2026. Moving forward, one team will play eight conference games to address the ACC having 17 teams.

The No. 1 tiebreaker remains head-to-head. The ACC said no team will be "overly rewarded or penalized" based on the number of conference games it plays. When head-to-head matchups cannot separate tied teams, the ACC will use the Team Success Ranking provided by SportSource Analytics as a way to reward the team with the strongest body of work.

The Blue Devils made the conference championship game over the Hurricanes last year based on the fifth tiebreaker -- conference opponent win percentage.

Because the CFP will now give automatic spots to each Power 4 champion, Phillips said it was important to be sure the top two teams in the league will play in the ACC championship game in December in Charlotte.

"You have to do everything you can to position your championship game with those two best teams," Phillips said. "Head-to-head matters. That's always most important. Then we will look at the grouping and how teams fared. It will come down to body of work. I'm looking forward to that."

Phillips said the league worked with consultants and did 10,000 simulated season outcomes to ensure the model fairly addressed a wide range of championship scenarios.

"It warranted that kind of time and commitment, so that we can position ourselves to put those two best ACC teams forward," Phillips said. "We'll continue to watch how this thing goes. But I feel incredibly strong that we have gotten to the right place with unanimity from our membership on what this new tie-breaking policy states."