2026-27 College Football Playoff: Full Schedule, Dates, TV Coverage and Host Venues

The College Football Playoff runs back its 12-team bracket for a third straight year, and the 2026-27 edition comes with the biggest broadcast shakeup since expansion started. For the first time, one game per round gets simulcast on ABC, which means fans without cable can watch playoff football over the air. TNT Sports is also taking on a larger role, including its first CFP semifinal.

Selection Day is Sunday, Dec. 6, when the full bracket, all 12 seeds and the four first-round matchups get revealed. From there, the field plays four games across 39 days before a champion is crowned at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Monday, Jan. 25.

Here is everything you need to plan your December and January around it. All times listed are Eastern.

More: 2026-27 NCAA College Football Bowl Schedule: TV Channels, Scores and Kickoff Times

First round schedule and TV channels (Dec. 18-19)

The playoff opens with a single primetime game on Friday, Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. on ESPN. The other three first-round games follow on Saturday, Dec. 19 in a daylong tripleheader. Every first-round game is played at the higher seed's home stadium, so the campus sites will not be set until the bracket drops on Dec. 6.

Friday, Dec. 18: 8 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday, Dec. 19: 12 p.m. on ABC/ESPN
Saturday, Dec. 19: 3:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV/HBO Max
Saturday, Dec. 19: 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV/HBO Max

Quarterfinal bowl sites and dates (Dec. 30-Jan. 1)

Four bowl games host the quarterfinals. The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona goes first as a standalone game on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV/HBO Max.

View from outside the Rose Bowl stadium ahead of the 2024 CFP semifinal. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

New Year's Day brings the other three: the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Goodyear Cotton Bowl in Arlington and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Those Jan. 1 games slot into windows of 12 p.m. (TNT/truTV/HBO Max), 4 p.m. (ABC/ESPN) and 8 p.m. (ESPN), with the exact order assigned on Selection Day.

Wednesday, Dec. 30: Fiesta Bowl, 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV/HBO Max
Friday, Jan. 1: Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl in the 12 p.m., 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. windows

Semifinal dates and locations (Jan. 14-15)

The semifinals sit on back-to-back weeknights. The Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens goes Thursday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m., marking TNT Sports' first CFP semifinal broadcast. The Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans follows Friday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. on ABC/ESPN, ESPN's first semifinal aired on ABC.

Thursday, Jan. 14: Orange Bowl, 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV/HBO Max
Friday, Jan. 15: Sugar Bowl, 7:30 p.m. on ABC/ESPN

National championship game in Las Vegas (Jan. 25)

The season ends Monday, Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the first title game held in the city. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. on ABC, which is 4:30 p.m. local Pacific Time.

One quirk of the calendar is that the quarterfinals wrap on Jan. 1, but the semifinals do not begin until Jan. 14. That is a 13-day gap, then another 10 days before the title game. The layoff has drawn steady criticism, but the money and the ratings keep the format hard to argue against.

Why the CFP is leaning into ABC and TNT

The push toward over-the-air access comes straight off a strong ratings year. Last season's title game, Indiana's 27-21 win over Miami on Jan. 19, 2026, averaged 30.1 million viewers, making it the second-most watched CFP title game on record. The only game ahead of it is Ohio State's win over Oregon in the inaugural CFP, which drew 33.9 million viewers.

Across the full 11-game bracket, the College Football Playoff games averaged 16.3 million viewers in its second year of the 12-team format.

That championship number gave the sport its most-viewed, non-NFL sports telecast since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. Numbers like that explain why the CFP is spreading its inventory across ESPN, ABC and TNT rather than keeping it locked behind cable.

2026-27 College Football Playoff full schedule at a glance

Selection Day: Sunday, Dec. 6
First Round: Fri., Dec. 18 and Sat., Dec. 19 (campus sites)
Quarterfinals: Wed., Dec. 30 (Fiesta) and Friday, Jan. 1 (Cotton, Rose, Peach)
Semifinals: Thu., Jan. 14 (Orange) and Fri., Jan. 15 (Sugar)
National Championship: Mon., Jan. 25, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, 7:30 p.m. ABC

2025-26 College Football Playoff scores and results

Here is how last season's bracket played out, ending with Indiana's first national title.

First round (Dec. 19-20)

No. 9 Alabama 34, No. 8 Oklahoma 24
No. 10 Miami (Fla.) 10, No. 7 Texas A&M 3
No. 6 Ole Miss 41, No. 11 Tulane 10
No. 5 Oregon 51, No. 12 James Madison 34

Quarterfinals (Dec. 31-Jan. 1)

No. 10 Miami (Fla.) 24, No. 2 Ohio State 14, Cotton Bowl
No. 5 Oregon 23, No. 4 Texas Tech 0, Orange Bowl
No. 1 Indiana 38, No. 9 Alabama 3, Rose Bowl
No. 6 Ole Miss 39, No. 3 Georgia 34, Sugar Bowl

Semifinals (Jan. 8-9)

No. 10 Miami (Fla.) 31, No. 6 Ole Miss 27, Fiesta Bowl, Glendale
No. 1 Indiana 56, No. 5 Oregon 22, Peach Bowl, Atlanta

National championship (Jan. 19)

No. 1 Indiana 27, No. 10 Miami (Fla.) 21, Miami Gardens

Recent CFP national champions

Ohio State Buckeyes celebrating 2024-25 national championship — Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer (33), defensive end JT Tuimoloau (44), head coach Ryan Day, safety Lathan Ransom (8), tight end Gee Scott Jr. (88) and running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the CFP National Championship. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

2026: Indiana 27, Miami (Fla.) 21, Miami Gardens
2025: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 23, Atlanta
2024: Michigan 34, Washington 13, Houston
2023: Georgia 65, TCU 7, Inglewood
2022: Georgia 33, Alabama 18, Indianapolis

Future national championship game sites

2028: New Orleans, Caesars Superdome, Jan. 24
2029: Tampa, Raymond James Stadium, Jan. 22
2030: Miami Gardens, Hard Rock Stadium, Jan. 21

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