College Football Playoff schedule for 2025-26 games

The College Football Playoff has announced complete kickoff times and broadcast information for the 2025-26 games, marking our first look at the schedule for the expanded 12-team field.

The national championship will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Mon., Jan. 19, and notably no CFP games are set to be played on a traditional Saturday this year.

That could change when the College Football Playoff releases the complete schedule including first-round games, which will be announced later this year.

“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 executive 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.”

Teams ranked 5-12 will take part in the first-round games, which will be played at the school of the higher-ranked team.

Teams ranked 1-4 will receive a first-round bye and play their first game in the quarterfinal round.

College Football Playoff schedule for 2025-26 games

All times Eastern

Quarterfinal Round

Cotton Bowl
Wed., Dec. 31 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN

Orange Bowl
Thurs., Jan. 1 | 12 p.m. | ESPN

Rose Bowl
Thurs., Jan. 1 | 4 p.m. | ESPN

Sugar Bowl
Thurs., Jan. 1 | 8 p.m. | ESPN

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Semifinal Round

Fiesta Bowl
Thurs., Jan. 8 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN

Peach Bowl
Fri., Jan. 9 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN

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National Championship

College football’s national championship will be decided on Mon., Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

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