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The 2025 college football season has been full of chaos. Six preseason Top 10 teams have already suffered multiple losses. Three are no longer ranked. Two have fired their head coaches.
A number of other previously ranked programs have also fallen from grace. The unpredictability could make for an unprecedented College Football Playoff field.
That outcome would come at the expense of one major conference. A Power 4 conference might not be represented in the national championship race should the dominos fall a certain way.
The ACC has been a college football disappointment.
The league entered the year with a pair of national championship contenders in Miami and Clemson. That duo now boasts a combined overall record of 11-7.
Miami remains ranked in the back half of the Top 25 after losing two of its last conference four games. The preseason No. 5 Tigers are 4-5 and far from title contention.
When looking at the current ACC standings, you’ll be hard-pressed to find the usual suspects. Atop the race are Georgia Tech, Virginia, SMU, and Pitt.
A 5-4 Duke team is just a half-game out of first place and could create a dire situation down the stretch.
Duke’s only ACC loss came to Georgia Tech. It has a chance to knock off Virginia and advance up the standings. Should the Blue Devils win out, the opportunity to make the conference championship at 8-4 and unranked will remain on the table.
How did we get here?
We mentioned Clemson and Miami’s struggles. They are not the only teams to suffer letdowns.
Georgia Tech held a Top 10 ranking after an 8-0 start only to fall to a four-win NC State team. The next week, Top 15 teams Virginia and Louisville fell in upset fashion to Wake Forest and Cal, respectively.
It seems no one wants to win the league!
When the upcoming College Football Playoffs rankings are revealed, the two-loss Hurricanes might be the top-rated ACC team.
Unfortunately, Miami needs help to make the conference title game. It’s lost to both SMU and Georgia Tech. It will need each to lose twice due to head-to-head outcomes.
Georgia Tech and Pitt will soon face off, likely removing one of those two teams from the league title conversation. The same is true with Duke and UVA.
While there are currently five one-loss teams in ACC play, only three can mathematically keep that status. If one of those teams is Duke, it could open the door for a bid stealer.
That would cost the ACC millions.
The top 5 highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed a spot but that does’t mean the ACC will get one of them 👀
Right now NONE of the ACC teams are favored to make the College Football Playoff.
Will any of them make it? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/oXqrx3zfrD
— ESPN BET (@ESPNBET) November 10, 2025
If Duke wins out to finish as a 9-4 ACC champion, it could present a nightmare scenario for the league. A door could open for Group of 5 contenders.
The CFP selection process considers the five highest ranked conference champions automatic qualifiers. Those teams are not required to come from Power 4 leagues.
If two G5 champs are ranked ahead of an ACC champion Duke, they will get the nod. The Blue Devils won’t make the field.
An eye will be on the American Conference. South Florida, North Texas, and Tulane, which already beat the Blue Devils, could finish with a similar ranking should they win out.
James Madison, meanwhile, is already ranked higher than Duke in the AP Poll. Should both JMU and the American Conference champ surpass the Blue Devils in that hypothetical final ranking, two G5 teams will be represented in the playoff.
That would leave the ACC hoping for an at-large bid for a team like Miami or Georgia Tech. Should no one be selected, the league would miss a massive payday.
The College Football Playoff pays $4 million for each conference member that makes the field. More money is doled out the further those teams advance.
The ACC will not get that money if it isn’t represented. That might have administration rooting for Duke’s downfall over the last three games.