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[04/22/25 - 11:01 AM]
Dates, Times Announced for 2025-26 College Football Playoff Quarterfinals, Playoff Semifinals and National Championship Game
The exclusive home of the CFP since its inception in 2015, ESPN is in the second year of its current expanded package, which also includes all four games of the CFP First Round and a sublicense of two of those games to TNT Sports/WBD.
[via press release from ESPN]

Dates, Times Announced for 2025-26 College Football Playoff Quarterfinals, Playoff Semifinals and National Championship Game

Three New Year's Day Playoff Quarterfinals to Feature New Start Times at Noon ET, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

ESPN and the College Football Playoff (CFP) today announced dates, kick times and broadcast information for the Playoff Quarterfinals, Playoff Semifinals and the national championship game for the 2025-26 edition of the postseason event.

The exclusive home of the CFP since its inception in 2015, ESPN is in the second year of its current expanded package, which also includes all four games of the CFP First Round and a sublicense of two of those games to TNT Sports/WBD.

The 2025-26 Playoff schedule includes a New Year's Day tripleheader of Quarterfinal games on ESPN with new kickoff times: the Capital One Orange Bowl (noon ET), the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (4 p.m.) and the Allstate Sugar Bowl (8 p.m.) will all start earlier than their traditional windows.

"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," shared College Football Playoff executive director Rich Clark. "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."

ESPN will present each of the four Playoff Quarterfinals, the two Playoff Semifinals and the 2026 CFP National Championship, slated for Monday, Jan. 19, at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium. The CFP National Championship returns to Miami for the first time since the 2021 contest, marking the second straight season the national championship game will return to a city for a second time, after Atlanta hosted the title contests in 2018 and 2025.

The quartet of 2024-25 Playoff Quarterfinals scored multi-year viewership highs: College GameDay registered its most-watched New Year's Day episode ever (2.4M viewers), the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (17.3M viewers) became the most-watched pre-3 p.m. ET bowl game ever, and Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show from the Rose Bowl Game is now ESPN's most-watched AltCast ever on any sport (2.4M viewers).

The CFP Semifinals produced the most-watched Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on record (20.6M viewers) and the second-most-watched Capital One Orange Bowl in nearly 20 years (17.8M viewers). The 2025 CFP National Championship between Ohio State and Notre Dame delivered 22.1 million viewers, the most-watched non-NFL sporting event over the past year. The showdown peaked with 26.1 million viewers.

Further scheduling details, including Playoff First Round dates, times and networks, as well as full MegaCast information, will be announced later this year.

Date Time (ET) Game Platform

Wed, Dec 31

7:30 p.m. Playoff Quarterfinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic ESPN

Thu, Jan 1

Noon Playoff Quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl ESPN

4 p.m. Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential ESPN

8 p.m. Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl ESPN

Thu, Jan 8

7:30 p.m. Playoff Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl ESPN

Fri, Jan 9

7:30 p.m. Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl ESPN

Mon, Jan 19

7:30 p.m. College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T ESPN

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