College Football Playoff bracket: Result updates, schedule ahead of semifinals
Four teams are left to compete for college football's national championship.
The College Football Playoff semifinals are set after Texas emerged with a double-overtime win against Arizona State in the best game thus far in this new version of the CFP, and Penn State and Ohio State scored decisive results during the first two days of quarterfinal games.
No. 7 seed Notre Dame beat No. 2 seed Georgia in the 2025 Sugar Bowl Thursday to earn the final spot in the semifinals. The game, originally set to be played Wednesday, was postponed in the aftermath of the terror attack in New Orleans early Wednesday morning.
Georgia became the fourth and final team that earned a first-round bye to lose in the quarterfinals. None of the five conference champions remain in the tournament.
Notre Dame will play Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 in the first CFP semifinal. Texas and Ohio State will face one another in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 in the other semifinal matchup.
The circumstances have certainly added an unexpected layer of drama to the first 12-team College Football Playoff, even if some of the games have turned into routs. Here's everything to know about the current state of the bracket, including a full CFP schedule, updated results and how to watch all the games left between now and the national championship game later this month:
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals: Updated results, schedule
All times Eastern
Tuesday, Dec. 31
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 Penn State 31, No. 3 Boise State 14
Wednesday, Jan. 1
- Peach Bowl: No. 5 Texas 39, No. 4 Arizona State 31 (OT)
- Rose Bowl: No. 8 Ohio State 41, No. 1 Oregon 21
Thursday, Jan. 2
- Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame 23, No. 2 Georgia 10
College Football Playoff first round results
Friday, Dec. 20
Saturday, Dec. 21
- Game 2: No. 6 Penn State 38, No. 11 SMU 10
- Game 3: No. 5 Texas 38, No. 12 Clemson 24
- Game 4: No. 8 Ohio State 42, No. 9 Tennessee 17
When are the College Football Playoff semifinals?
The CFP semifinal games will be played on Jan. 9 and 10.
Thursday, Jan. 9
- Orange Bowl: No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 7 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
Friday, Jan. 10
- Cotton Bowl: No. 5 Texas vs. No. 8 Ohio State, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
When is College Football Playoff national championship?
- Date: Monday, Jan. 20
- Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Paste BN Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.