When is College Playoff Playoff? Schedule, bowl games announced for 2025-2026 CFP
With the NFL draft set to take place this week in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the sports calendar is slowly beginning to shift its way back to college football.
The College Football Playoff provided a gentle reminder of that on Tuesday, when it announced the bowl game assignments and kickoff times for the quarterfinals through national championship games for this upcoming season.
The four New Year's Six quarterfinals assignments this year will be the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, with the former of the four taking place on New Year's Eve. The final four teams in the 12-team CFP field will play in either the Fiesta Bowl or Peach Bowl for a spot in the national championship game.
Perhaps the biggest development from Tuesday's news release was the shift in kickoff time for the Rose Bowl, as it will now start one hour earlier this year at 4 p.m. ET — meaning the game won't start right at sunset in Pasadena. The other two New Year's Day quarterfinal games will also have new kickoff times.
"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," executive director of the College Football Playoff Rich Clark said in a statement.
"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."
The CFP national title game returns to Miami Gardens, Florida and Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins, for the first time since 2021 on Monday, January 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Ohio State won the inaugural 12-team CFP over Notre Dame this past season.
Here's what you need to know on when the College Football Playoff is set to take place during the 2025-26 college football season:
2025 College Football Playoff schedule
- College Football Playoff 2025-26 start date: Friday, Dec. 19, 2025
- College Football Playoff 2025-26 end date: Monday, Jan. 19, 2026
As noted by a 2023 news release, the 2025-26 College Football Playoff will start on Friday, Dec. 19 with the first of four on-campus first-round games. The three final first-round games will take place on Saturday, Dec. 20.
The CFP announced on Tuesday that the Cotton Bowl will be the lone New Year's Six Bowl on New Year's Eve; while the Orange Bowl will start the New Year's Day triple-header in the early afternoon window, followed by the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl.
After being considered CFP quarterfinals sites this past season, the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will serve as the two semifinal bowl game sites for this upcoming CFP.
Here's a look at the schedule for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff from the quarterfinals through national championship:
Quarterfinals
- Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (AT&T Stadium — Arlington, Texas) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026: Capital One Orange Bowl (Hard Rock Stadium — Miami) at Noon ET on ESPN; Rose Bowl Game (Rose Bowl — Pasadena, Cali.) at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN; Allstate Sugar Bowl (Caesars Superdome — New Orleans) at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
Semifinals
- Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (State Farm Stadium — Glendale, Arizona) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Friday, Jan. 9, 2026: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Atlanta) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
2026 CFP National Championship
- Monday, Jan. 19, 2026: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Fla.) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
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