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. Commissioner Jim Phillips described the move as getting the league to the "right place" to feature its two best football teams.

The change also addresses the shift to a nine-game conference schedule. In 2026, 12 teams will play nine ACC games and five will play eight. The No. 1 tiebreaker remains head-to-head. When that cannot separate tied teams, the ACC will use the Team Success Ranking from Sport Source Analytics to reward the strongest body of work.

Duke reached the title game over the Hurricanes last year via the fifth tiebreaker — conference opponent win percentage. With the CFP now granting automatic spots to each Power 4 champion, Phillips emphasized positioning the top two teams for the December championship in Charlotte. The league ran 10,000 simulated seasons to ensure fairness across scenarios.