Overview
- SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said at ACC Media Day on Friday that Duke, the 2025 ACC champion, should have received a College Football Playoff berth instead of Sun Belt champion James Madison.
- The ACC this week announced it will use the SportSource Analytics metric for tiebreakers, a change the league says will alter which teams reach the conference title game.
- Duke coach Manny Diaz argued conference winners deserve playoff berths and said last season showed the ACC merited more than one CFP spot.
- Lashlee also criticized the SEC as top-heavy while his remarks prompted a strong online backlash from James Madison supporters and broad media reaction.
- The dispute highlights a wider fight over Power-Five versus Group-of-5 representation and could pressure the CFP committee and conferences to clarify selection rules before the 2026 season.