Newsletter: The ACC is Building the Plane While It's in the Air
The latest College Football Newsletter checks in on a conference trying very hard to figure some things out.
Welcome to the College Football Newsletter, where we’ve had our tiebreaker rules firmly established since day one.
Duke’s win over Virginia in the ACC Championship has turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving. Not only did the Blue Devils’ victory open the door for a second Group of 5 team to make the Playoff, but now the ACC has changed its scheduling and vows to fix its tiebreaker scenario to prevent any of this college football chaos from happening again. The operative word here is should, because the new ACC schedule requires at least a second reading to get it all right.
The ACC plan is to have a nine-game conference schedule soon. Some of that will happen next year, but everyone should have nine games by 2027 (kind of, stay with me here). 2026 will be a transitional year of sorts because some teams will have eight conference games while others will immediately move to the nine-conference game schedule. In 2027, everything should be in order and everyone will have the same number of conference games — with the exception of one school a year, because the conference has an odd number of teams at 17. That team will rotate every season.
If there was only an independent team somewhere that would join the ACC to even out this conference at 18 to finally fix this problem. Fine, I’ll spell it out: come on down, UConn Huskies!
But in all seriousness, this does feel like a band-aid solution to the larger problems facing the ACC. So, what’s the long term solution to fix this? I asked Richard what he makes of it all:
Everything about the ACC seems slapdashed together with duct tape and spittle. The schedule is yet another example. Obviously, even after they get through this bridge period, not every team will be able to play a full nine-game conference schedule. It’s utterly ridiculous. It is obviously a negative byproduct of the super conference movement.
The other thing tucked in here is that the ACC is going to fix their tiebreaker thing. We will see what that ends up being, but at least they say they’re going to fix it, so we’ll see. But at the end of the day, there’s no way for schedule equity to actually happen in today’s day and age with the super conferences. I just cannot wait to see the dumb way this bites the ACC in the ass in the future.
Let’s preview some Playoff games:
Have you gotten up to speed on the Playoff teams and how they got here? You should have some fun mini episodes reviewing every team’s regular season and examining whether they have a legitimate shot at hosting the National Championship in Miami. If you want the video version of these, check out our YouTube channel, where we wrapped them up in a nice playlist just for you:
Here’s what else Alex and Richard dropped into your podcast feeds this week:
Did you know the Montana-Montana State rivalry game isn’t really referred to as the “Brawl of the Wild?,” and that name is really more of a branding thing? I didn’t know that until I listened to our episode with guest and former Griz linebacker Kevin Van Valkenburg.
We have an extra hefty Tasting Menu this week in honor of the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Host emeritus Godfrey stops by for a subscriber-only episode about coaching superlatives. Which coach will definitely succeed and which one will definitely not?
Elsewhere in college football:
Brandon Marcello at CBS Sports chronicled Jon Sumrall’s journey as he tries to balance out Tulane’s present and Florida’s future. He’s dual wielding cell phones and running on very little sleep. Don’t get me wrong: it would be great to have Tulane defeat Ole Miss on Saturday but Sumrall getting an adequate amount of sleep for the first time in weeks would also be a good consolation.
I know there are plenty of college football fans who are also into wrestling, so I bet you would enjoy Alex talking with David Shoemaker about John Cena’s legacy after his final match. If you’re not into wrestling, you should still listen because the rest of the episode also includes talk about what Michigan should do after firing Sherrone Moore.
Speaking of Michigan, Richard is reporting that Michigan is considering elevating interim coach Biff Poggi to the permanent head coach role. That has its own risks, given how everything in Ann Arbor’s leadership seems to currently be in the air given the developing situation.
If you’re in a giving mood this holiday season, the Sickos Committee is doing a food drive benefiting folks in State College, PA.
Bowl season is here, and Alabama-Oklahoma is only hours away, deepening on when you are reading this. Have fun watching the games, and we’ll talk to you Sunday (or maybe even very late Saturday, depending on how the day goes).