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College football’s 12-team playoff enters its second season with fans now having a better grasp of the expanded format that’s completely changed the December-to-January championship chase. Remember when a single October loss could torpedo a team’s title hopes? Those days are gone. Programs that would’ve been planning bowl trips by mid-November now have legitimate playoff paths deep into the season.
We’re closing in on the first CFP Rankings reveal for the 2025 season, which drops Tuesday night. That means we’re just under five weeks from Selection Sunday (Dec. 7) when we’ll learn the complete 12-team bracket.
ESPN’s carrying most of the playoff action again this year — they’ve got nine of the 11 games. Two first-round matchups will be simulcast on ABC, while TNT Sports grabbed rights to two other opening-round contests. Home-field advantage remains a huge factor in the first round, with games played on campus sites where the 5-8 seeds host before everything shifts to the traditional New Year’s Six bowl locations for the quarterfinals and beyond. The top four teams get those coveted first-round byes directly into the quarters.
One major change this year: no more automatic bids for conference champions.
The straight-seeding model now determines the entire field, replacing last year’s conference champion guarantees that sparked so much debate.
Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium hosts this season’s national championship on Monday, Jan. 19.
Complete 2025-26 College Football Playoff Schedule
All times Eastern
First Round
Note: All games will be played at campus sites to be determined.
Friday, Dec. 19
- 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 20
- Noon (ABC/ESPN)
- 4 p.m. (TNT, truTV & HBO Max)
- 7:30 p.m. (TNT, truTV & HBO Max)
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Dec. 31
- Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas) — 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 1
- Orange Bowl (Miami) — Noon (ESPN)
- Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) — 4 p.m. (ESPN)
- Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) — 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Semifinals
The road to Miami narrows with our final four teams battling in the desert and Atlanta.
Thursday, Jan. 8
- Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Arizona) — 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Friday, Jan. 9
- Peach Bowl (Atlanta) — 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
College Football Playoff National Championship
Monday, Jan. 19
- Hard Rock Stadium (Miami) — 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
