Miami AD Dan Radakovich says ACC can get better at tiebreakers

Speaking to Andrea Adelson of ESPN, Miami athletic director Dan Radakoch said the ACC can get better at tiebreakers to determine who plays in the conference Championship game. Miami finished in a five-way tie for second place in the ACC with a 6-2 conference record.

"Duke (7-5 overall) made it into the championship game...based on the fifth tiebreaker: conference opponent win percentage" per Adelson. Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and SMU were the other teams that finished with 6-2 records in the ACC in 2025.

Miami lost 26-20 in overtime at SMU without six starters, according to head coach Mario Cristobal, as told to Adelson and defeated Pittsburgh 38-7 on Saturday. The Hurricanes had the best point differential in ACC games, outscoring opponents 262-120.

Virginia had the best record in the ACC with a 7-1 league record and outscored conference opponents 242-162. Wake Forest won 16-9 at Virginia on November 8 to give the Cavaliers their lone conference loss. North Carolina State beat Virginia 35-31 in what was considered a non-conference game on September 6 for the Cavaliers' other 2025 defeat.

"We've got to get a little better at that...and I can't tell you what the answer is right now...we've got to look at some different things that might be able to streamline that and make sure that the league is going to put its best foot forward. It's too complicated, and we need to look at other options that might make it more simple, but yet take into account the idea of multiple teams being tied...The old system probably didn't contemplate four or five teams being tied for a second-place spot."

Miami AD Dan Radakovich told to ESPN

CBS Miami lead sports anchor Mike Cugno clipped a copy of a letter Radkovich sent, mentioning that he served on the College Football Playoff committee for four years, discussed the two-loss teams and that Miami beat one of them (Notre Dame). Radakovich continued by stating, "Let's ensure those moments matter."

Miami is losing out in the ACC because head-to-head did matter and the Hurricanes would miss the CFP because it doesn't matter enough to the committee. Adelson reported, "ACC coaches and athletic directors voted for the tiebreakers that were added once they removed divisions in 2023."

The first ACC tiebreaker is winning percentage. The next three before the ACC got to opponent winning percentage are "Head-to-Head Sweep, Common Games and Nth Place Common Opponent" per PlayoffStatus.com.

How other conferences determine tiebreakers

Adeslon wrote that the other Power Four conferences follow mostly similar tiebreaking procedures. The American Athletic Conference uses the most recent CFP rankings when teams are tied without head-to-head results. The Mountain West used metrics to break a four-way tie for its championship game, per Adelson.

Mega conferences where teams play different schedules are going to create frequent multi-team ties. The SEC had a four-way tie in 2025 between Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas A&M at 7-1. The first two tiebreakers for the SEC are head-to-head and record versus common opponents, down to a coin flip for the sixth tiebreaker.

Miami has separated itself as the best team overall in the ACC in the past two seasons. To their own doing in 2024, Miami missed the ACC Championship game with a 6-2 conference record. SMU finished the regular season 8-0 in the ACC in 2024 and Clemson was 7-1.

In 2025, Miami was at the mercy of the fifth tiebreaker to determine who plays in the ACC Championship Game. Games should matter on the field. After that, expect Radakovich to bring the tiebreakers up at the Winter Meetings, which are typically held in February.