College Football Playoff schedule set for 2025-26 season

By Rivers Hughey

The College Football Playoff will maintain its 12-team format for the 2025-26 season, and the full schedule for the upcoming postseason has now been announced.

The NCAA released dates and locations for each round on Tuesday, closely mirroring the structure used during the inaugural year of the expanded playoff.

Here is the full schedule:

First Round (on-campus sites)

• Friday, Dec. 19: One game

• Saturday, Dec. 20: Three games

Quarterfinals

• Wednesday, Dec. 31: Cotton Bowl

• Thursday, Jan. 1: Orange Bowl (early afternoon)

• Thursday, Jan. 1: Rose Bowl (late afternoon)

• Thursday, Jan. 1: Sugar Bowl (primetime)

Semifinals

• Thursday, Jan. 8: Fiesta Bowl

• Friday, Jan. 9: Peach Bowl

National Championship

• Monday, Jan. 19: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.

The championship will mark the conclusion of the second season under the expanded playoff model, which debuted in 2024.

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