Why Virginia Defeating Duke Next Saturday Is Good For The ACC Conference

It is hard to type this, but a Virginia victory over Duke would not only be great for them, but it also would be good for the ACC. There have been a lot of rumblings about a disastrous scenario or even doomsday, and it is here with the Blue Devils being in the ACC title game at 7-5.

The ACC has been considered weak according to a national perspective, unfortunately, with only one team being ranked in the top 12, which is the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff rankings. To add insult to injury, they aren’t even playing for an ACC title. It is one of the conference's best teams, but they won’t get a chance to show it after falling to Louisville and SMU in conference play.

However, the reality is that the ACC is in the golden age of parity. Virginia clinched just its second ACC title game in program history and first since 2019. They also clinched their second 10-win season in program history and first since 1989. When you think of Virginia, you don’t think of a football powerhouse. It is the same with the Duke Blue Devils, who have been largely considered a basketball team but are in the ACC Championship game. Some of the powers that have run the conference, Clemson and Florida State, are not even in playoff contention. The usual staple, Miami is on the brink and hopes the committee will grant them an at-large spot, but they are in a crowded field that includes BYU, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Alabama. Their lives now sit in the committee's hands.

Now Duke handled their business in the ACC, finishing with a 6-2 ACC record that forged a five-way tie with them, Miami, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, and SMU They are a 7-5 football team. Duke lost to Illinois, Tulane, Georgia Tech, UCONN, and Virginia. Let’s be honest here, if they upset Virginia, they aren’t getting into the College Football Playoff. It will go to a group of five teams, which is likely going to be James Madison. The winner of the American Championship between North Texas and Tulane will get the other spot. The ACC would be the first Power 4 conference to have a conference champion not get into the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014, and the expansion to 12 teams in 2024.

It would be a disaster for the conference as a whole, which already has a tough time attracting the revenue compared to the other power conferences like the SEC and the Big 10, while also struggling for bids in the playoff. The worst part is the perception as a whole. While other conferences are being awarded for having parity and any team can win on any given Saturday, it is seen as a detriment for the ACC. That is evident by the aforementioned rankings.

With a Virginia win, they would finish conference play with an 8-1 record and would be 11-2 overall. It would be a much better look for the conference if the champion finished with that reality, and then the potential of a Miami with an at-large bid. That would put two teams in a similar position to last year, when Clemson (conference champion) and SMU (at-large bid) made it to the playoffs.

It is a tough situation for the conference to be put in this year as a whole, but the ACC has found itself in this unfortunate predicament. Saturday will tell us a lot about the conference as a whole and who can come out on top in the conference title game. Virginia will not only be playing for itself, but for the conference. It will be the Hoos first chance to win its first conference title in 1995. It would be their fourth overall in program history if they can win next weekend.

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