ACC Announces Changes to Football Tiebreaker Rules for 2026

The Atlantic Coast Conference is set to change its football tiebreakers for the 2026 season following a five-way tie for second this season that kept the conference champion out of the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Duke won the five-way tiebreaker based on the winning percentage of their conference opponents and defeated regular-season champion Virginia in the ACC championship game. However, Duke, with five regular-season losses, was left out of the CFP, while Miami, one of the teams tied with Duke for second, was selected as the final at-large team in the playoff field.

In a related development, the ACC will move from an eight-game conference schedule to a nine-game schedule in 2026, although some teams will play eight games during the transition season. The conference has announced that twelve of its seventeen football-playing members will play nine league games, including NC State and Duke, while five teams, including North Carolina, will play eight league games.

NC State's schedule includes just three true road games in conference play, with five home games and one game against Virginia in Brazil to open the season. Duke will have four ACC home games and five league road games.

All teams will be required to play ten games against Power Four conference opponents, including independent Notre Dame, aligning the ACC with the SEC and Big 12, which are also moving to nine conference games in 2026.

The ACC's phased approach aims to strengthen competitive equity and scheduling flexibility, according to ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips. The complete list of teams playing nine and eight ACC games in 2026 has been released, with matchups including California hosting Clemson and NC State playing at Vanderbilt, among others.

Dates for conference games will be announced in late December.