Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Football December 30, 2025 ACC Football Set for Four Postseason Showdowns Across New Year’s Eve and January 2 CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference continues its postseason run with four bowl games across New Year’s Eve and January 2, showcasing the league on college football’s biggest stages. On New Year’s Eve, No. 10 Miami and 2025 ACC Champion Duke headline the action, with the Hurricanes facing No. 2 Ohio State in the 90th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, while Duke meets Arizona State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl at 2 p.m. ET on CBS. The postseason spotlight continues on January 2, 2026, as Wake Forest takes on Mississippi State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, followed by SMU squaring off against No. 17 Arizona in the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. The ACC enters New Year’s Eve 4-4 in postseason play, highlighted by No. 10 Miami’s win over No. 7 Texas A&M in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Duke, Miami, SMU and Wake Forest are four of 11 ACC teams that will have competed in postseason action. Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Duke vs. Arizona State | 2 p.m. ET Series: Arizona State leads series, 1-0-0 Last Meeting: Arizona State, 36-31 (2014) TV: CBS SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 117 / SiriusXM 201 / SiriusXM 371 SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 117 / SiriusXM 201 / SiriusXM 371 The 2025 ACC Champion Duke Blue Devils are bowl-eligible for the second consecutive season under head coach Manny Diaz and will make their 18th postseason appearance, including a fourth straight bowl berth. Duke is 8-9 all-time in bowl games but has captured six of its last seven postseason contests. The Blue Devils boast one of the nation’s most productive offenses, ranking in the top 20 nationally in both passing and scoring, led by quarterback Darian Mensah, who sits among the top 10 in the FBS in passing yards, passing yards per game and passing touchdowns this season. Duke will face Arizona State of the Big 12 in just the second meeting between the programs, with the Sun Devils holding a 1-0 series advantage following a 36-31 win in the 2014 Sun Bowl. Goodyear Cotton Bowl – College Football Playoff Quarterfinals #10 Miami vs. #2 Ohio State | 8 p.m. ET Series: Series tied at 2-2-0 Last Meeting: Miami, 24-6 (2011) TV: ESPN SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 80 / SiriusXM 82 SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 80 / SiriusXM 82 No. 10 Miami advanced in the College Football Playoff with a 10-3 victory over No. 7 Texas A&M in the first round on Saturday, December 20, adding to a season that has included five wins over Top-25 opponents and eight victories by 14 points or more. The Hurricanes rank among the FBS top 30 in numerous offensive statistical categories, including scoring and passing offense, red-zone efficiency, time of possession, completion percentage, tackles-for-loss and sacks allowed, and both third-down and fourth-down conversion percentage, while also sitting in the top 30 defensively in scoring, total and rushing defense, red-zone defense, tackles-for-loss, sacks and third-down conversion percentage defense. Miami enters the quarterfinals contest at 1-0 in the CFP and 21-26 all-time in postseason play and will face No. 2 Ohio State, which is 12-1 on the season and spent the entire year ranked in the AP top three. The all-time series between the programs is tied 2-2, with the Hurricanes claiming the most recent meeting, a 24-6 win in Miami Gardens in 2011. Duke’s Mayo Bowl Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State | 8 p.m. ET Series: Mississippi State leads series, 1-0-0 Last Meeting: Mississippi State, 23-17 (2011) TV: ESPN SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 80 / SiriusXM 382 SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 80 / SiriusXM 972 Wake Forest will face Mississippi State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Friday, January 2, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET in Charlotte, North Carolina. It marks the fourth time in the Demon Deacons’ last 11 bowl appearances that they will play in Charlotte, joining trips in 2007, 2017 and 2020. Wake Forest is 11-6 all-time in bowl games and enters the postseason having won each of its last two bowl contests, the 2021 Gator Bowl and 2022 Gasparilla Bowl. The Demon Deacons’ defense has been elite this season, ranking in the top 30 nationally in total defense, tackles-for-loss, passing efficiency defense, fourth-down defense, first-down defense and fumbles recovered. The matchup will be just the second all-time meeting between the programs, with their lone previous contest coming in the 2011 Music City Bowl. Trust & Will Holiday Bowl SMU vs. #17 Arizona | 8 p.m. ET Series: Series tied at 1-1-0 Last Meeting: Arizona, 28-6 (1985) TV: FOX SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 371 SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 371 SMU will take on No. 17 Arizona in the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl on Friday, January 2, 2026, in San Diego, California, as the Mustangs make their seventh consecutive bowl appearance. SMU has played in 20 bowl games in program history, earning seven victories, and will return to the Holiday Bowl for the first time since 1980, when it faced BYU. Defense has been a key strength for the Mustangs in 2025, as they rank fifth nationally in takeaways with 27 and are ranked in the top 10 in both fumbles recovered and interceptions. Offensively, SMU is led by quarterback Kevin Jennings, who ranks 10th nationally in passing yards per game, and has led the Mustangs in scoring 24 or more points in 10 of 12 games this season. The series between SMU and Arizona is tied 1-1, with the two programs last meeting in 1985. Noting ACC Football ACC Lands Three Teams in CFP Top 25 The ACC had three teams ranked in the final College Football Playoff rankings (December 7): Miami (No. 10), Virginia (No. 19) and Georgia Tech (No. 22). The Miami Hurricanes were selected to the 2025 College Football Playoff, receiving an at-large bid to secure the team’s first-ever trip to the CFP. Eleven ACC Teams Playing in the Postseason The ACC will have 11 different teams play in a bowl game or in the CFP Playoffs for the third straight season. That is the longest streak by any FBS conference all-time. (Stats Perform) This marks the eighth time since 2014-15 that the league has reached double-digit bowl-eligible teams. The 11 bowl teams are the second-most among all conferences: Big Ten – 12; ACC – 11; SEC – 10; Big 12 – 10; Sun Belt – 9; American – 8; Mountain West – 7; CUSA – 7; MAC – 5. Excluding 2020, the ACC has had multiple teams win a bowl game in every season since 2001. The only other FBS conference to do that in the same time frame is the SEC. (Stats Perform) ACC is the Deepest Power 4 Conference The ACC has proven it is the deepest Power 4 conference this season: 6 teams at 2 losses or fewer in conference play, the second-most among all FBS conferences. 7 conference games have gone into overtime, the most by any conference since 2000. The ACC Championship Game was decided in overtime for the first time in the 21-year history of the title game. In conference play, road teams posted a 35-33 record in the ACC. The ACC had the strongest non-conference strength of schedule among all Power 4 conferences: Played 26 non-conference games versus P4 teams and Notre Dame to date, the most of any conference: ACC - 26; SEC – 18; Big 12 - 14; Big Ten - 12. The ACC has won plenty of high-profile games this year: 6 different ACC teams have defeated an AP Top 10 opponent this season. 9 different ACC teams have defeated a Top 15 opponent this year. 12 different ACC teams have defeated an AP Top 25 opponent this season. ACC and ESPN/ACCN Enhanced Instant Replay Transparency During the 2025 season, the ACC provided fans with real-time access to officiating deliberations in 25 games across ESPN, ESPN2, and the ACC Network, featuring the first-of-its-kind ACC Enhanced Instant Replay Transparency. Viewers heard live replay discussions among the referee, the in-stadium instant replay official, and the ACC’s Collaborative Instant Replay Official based in the ACC’s Game Day Operations Center in Charlotte. The initiative represented a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the ACC and ESPN, enhancing transparency and modernizing the fan viewing experience. The ACC was the only conference to offer this level of replay audio access during select games in 2024 and the start of the 2025 season, establishing a new standard for transparency in college football officiating. ACC Football Fridays The ACC owned Friday nights during the 2025 regular season, setting a league record with 12 Friday games featuring ACC teams. 12 of the ACC’s 17 football programs appeared in at least one primetime Friday night matchup, underscoring the league’s national presence to open each weekend. ACC Friday night games delivered marquee matchups, ranked opponents, multiple overtime contests, and nationally televised showcase games throughout the season.