2025-26 College Football Playoff Schedule

The College Football Playoff (CFP) is the event that crowns the national champion in college football. 

The CFP Selection Committee ranks the top 25 teams at the end of the season. The 12 playoff participants consist of the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams. 

The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and receive a first-round bye. 

The schools seeded five through eight will host those seeded nine through 12 in first-round games. 

The quarterfinals and semifinals rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. 

The College Football Playoff National Championship will be played in Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami Gardens, Florida. 

Here is the schedule for the 2025-26 edition of the College Football Playoff (CFP):

• Friday, December 19: First-Round Game, TBD school location
• Saturday, December 20:
  First-Round Game, TBD school location
  First-Round Game, TBD school location
  First-Round Game, TBD school location
•  Wednesday, December 31: Quarterfinal Game, Cotton Bowl, Arlington, Texas, 6:30 pm (Central), ESPN
• Thursday, January 1, 2026: 
  Quarterfinal Game, Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Florida, 11 am (Central), ESPN
  Quarterfinal Game, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, 4 pm (Central), ESPN
  Quarterfinal Game. Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, Louisiana, 7 pm (Central), ESPN
• Thursday, January 8, 2026: Semifinal, Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Arizona, 6:30 pm (Central), ESPN
• Friday, January 9, 2026: Semifinal, Peach Bowl, Atlanta, Georgia,  6:30 pm (Central), ESPN
• Monday, January 19, 2026: National Championship Game, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, 6:30 pm, ESPN

Additional CFP information: here