How Duke Sparked a War of Words Between Notre Dame and the ACC

Despite a five-loss season, Duke found itself in Charlotte as the victors of a crazy five-way tiebreaker within the ACC.

Not only did Duke win the tiebreaker, but the Blue Devils went on to win the conference, ousting Virginia from a playoff spot, and leaving the conference's hopes for a playoff bid to an at-large hope.

Dec 6, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah (10) celebrates after the Blue Devils score a touchdown in overtime during the ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Thankfully for ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, Miami managed to jump up a few spots without playing on conference championship weekend and snagged a playoff spot with the No. 10 seed, the final at-large bid.

The Blue Devils didn't stand much of a chance to make the field, even with a championship belt. However, their win indirectly created the biggest conflict following the bracket reveal: Notre Dame was removed from the playoff picture.

How Duke Impacted Notre Dame

Sep 30, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils mascot with his usual signage during the first quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

In hindsight, several moments in Duke's season could have resulted in the Blue Devils being removed from the conference race and giving way to a program with CFP potential, like Miami.

Duke squeaked out a win on the road at Clemson, 46-45, after going for two and the lead with seconds to go. The Blue Devils only got that shot after a controversial pass interference call against the Tigers extended the drive on fourth down.

Nov 22, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils running back Anderson Castle (4) celebrates a touchdown with offensive lineman Brian Parker II (53) during the second half against North Carolina at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images | William Howard-Imagn Images

On the road in Chapel Hill, a fake field goal late in the game led to a game-winning touchdown run by Anderson Castle, keeping the Blue Devils alive in the race.

Had Duke lost either of those games, the wild tiebreaker scenario wouldn't have existed. Instead, the tie would have been between Miami, Pitt, Georgia Tech and SMU, with the Hurricanes coming out on top.

Aug 31, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney (10) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Miami ended up jumping the Irish in the final rankings courtesy of a head-to-head win back in Week 1. However, if Miami had cracked the ACC title game and won, the Hurricanes would be in the field as one of the five-highest-ranked conference champions, kicking James Madison out of the playoff.

That would have opened the door for Notre Dame to stay in the field and take the final at-large bid.

ACC vs Notre Dame

Sep 20, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and quarterback CJ Carr (13) sing the alma mater after beating the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

Notre Dame felt screwed over because the Irish were ranked in front of Miami for several weeks, but ultimately were jumped on a weekend when neither team played.

After Duke's win might have placed pressure on the selection committee to make sure an ACC team got in, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua didn't hold back when commenting on the ACC.

Bevacqua appeared on The Dan Patrick Show and said the ACC had "done permanent damage" to its relationship with Notre Dame, which schedules a partial ACC lineup as an independent.

Notre Dame athletics director Pete Bevacqua speaks with media at Notre Dame Stadium on Monday, Dec. 17, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. | Michael Clubb / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"We were mystified by the actions of the conference, to attack their biggest business partner in football, and a member of their conference in 24 of our other sports," Bevacqua said. "I would tell you, Dan, I wouldn’t be honest with you if I didn’t say that they have certainly done permanent damage to the relationship between the conference and Notre Dame.”

Duke wasn't going to make the field as a five-loss team, but the ACC publicly advocated for Miami, Virginia and Duke to make the field before the chaos all unfolded. The conference repeatedly pointed out Miami's head-to-head win over the Irish, which didn't sit well in South Bend, Indiana.

No hypotheticals, just facts.

Team A ✅ https://t.co/2SshUcSWhK pic.twitter.com/eyHadwcQYt
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) November 11, 2025

“We didn’t appreciate the fact that we were singled out repeatedly and compared to Miami, not by Miami," Bevacqua said. "Miami has every right to do that. But it raised a lot of eyebrows here that the conference was taking shots at us, and that’s just not something we choose to do. We wouldn’t choose to do that in the future. People might disagree with us, but that’s just not something that we’d be comfortable with."

Dec 6, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz looks on during the second half against the Virginia Cavaliers during the 2025 ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Notre Dame has now opted out of a bowl appearance, while Miami will travel to Texas A&M for the first round of the College Football Playoff. Had Duke not won the ACC, the Irish might have made the field, avoiding the conflict with the conference altogether.

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