College Football Playoff bracket: Result updates, schedule ahead of semifinals
College football's expanded playoff bracket is down to four teams, and one coach is going to accomplish a first no matter how the final three games play out.
Notre Dame will face Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Thursday and Texas will play Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday as part of the CFP semifinals after each advanced through the quarterfinal round last week. None of the schools won a conference title or earned a first-round bye in the playoffs, but each features a coach who has never won a national championship before.
That will change over the next two weeks as the College Football Playoff nears its conclusion.
Ohio State, which throttled No. 1 Oregon in the CFP quarterfinals, is the most recent national champion of the four, with its last title coming in 2014 under former coach Urban Meyer. Texas, coming off a win over Arizona State to make the semifinals, won a national championship with quarterback Vince Young in 2005. Penn State won national championships in 1982 and 1986, while Notre Dame is seeking its first national title since 1988.
There's a lot of history at stake with these two matchups. 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:
College Football Playoff Semifinals: Updated schedule
All times Eastern
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. (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. (ESPN) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals: Updated results, schedule
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
Watch the CFP semifinals with Fubo
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 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.