2025-26 College Football Playoff: Dates, Times, TV Information Released
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Go ahead and break out those Sharpie markers, college football fans, the dates, times and television information has been released for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff games. Specifics were released on Tuesday.
The College Football Playoff released information regarding the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the 2025-26 Playoff. Details for the National Championship Game were also revealed.
No details have been released regarding the College Football Playoff's first round games, which features four games held on college campuses. That information will be released at a later time 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,” Rich Clark, executive director of the College Football Playoff, said in a statement.
“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.”
Quarterfinal games are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Dec. 31 and will run through Thursday, Jan. 1. The semifinal round is set for Thursday, Jan. 8 and Friday, Jan. 9. The 2025-26 College Football Playoff will conclude on Monday, Jan. 19 with the National Championship Game.
Here's the schedule for the quarterfinal round, semifinal round and National Championship Game for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff:
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Round
- Game: Goodyear Cotton Bowl
- Date: Wednesday, Dec. 31 (New Year's Eve)
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
- TV: ESPN
- Game: Capital One Orange Bowl
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 1 (New Year's Day)
- Kickoff: Noon ET
- Location: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami
- TV: ESPN
- Game: Rose Bowl Game
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 1 (New Year's Day)
- Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET
- Location: The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
- TV: ESPN
- Game: Allstate Sugar Bowl
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 1 (New Year's Day)
- Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Caesars Superdome in New Orleans
- TV: ESPN
College Football Playoff Semifinal Round
- Game: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 8
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
- TV: ESPN
- Game: Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl
- Date: Friday, Jan. 9
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
- TV: ESPN
2026 College Football Playoff National Championship Game
- Game: National Championship Game
- Date: Monday, Jan. 19
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami
- TV: ESPN
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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