College Football Playoff Dates, Times, TV Announced for 2026

Details on the 2026 College Football Playoff were officially released on Tuesday afternoon with dates, times, and TV networks in the books.

One of the most interesting aspects of the release was the fact that the College Football Playoff wouldn’t feature a single game on a Saturday.

The full schedule for the CFP is as follows.

• Cotton Bowl – Wednesday, December 31st
• Orange Bowl – Thursday, January 1st
• Rose Bowl – Thursday, January 1st
• Sugar Bowl – Thursday, January 1st
• Fiesta Bowl – Thursday, January 8th
• Peach Bowl – Friday, January 9th
• National Championship – Monday, January 19th

While ESPN has largely been viewed as one of the sports’ biggest killers, they are set to host every single playoff game from start to finish.

“The exclusive home of the CFP since its inception in 2015, ESPN is in the second year of its current expanded package, which also includes all four games of the CFP First Round and a sublicense of two games to TNT Sports/WBD,” the release states.

“This New Year’s Day schedule adjustment is the result of a thoughtful collaboration between the CFP, ESPN, the Capital One Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential, and the Allstate Sugar Bowl,” College Football Playoff Director Rich Clark said. “All three bowls shifting their start times allows us to place each game in an ideal window on New Year’s Day and provide the optimal viewing experience. New Year’s Day and college football are synonymous with each other, and these changes only strengthen that relationship.”

With the expanded college football playoff providing an opportunity for multiple Big 12 teams to sneak into the field, the question of which teams should be marking their calendar for the CFP is just a few months away from getting started.