2025-26 College Football Playoff and Bowl Schedule Revealed
The college football season is always a wild ride, and it all builds up to bowl season. For 2025-2026, we’re in the second year of the 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP), which adds a whole new twist.
This year’s bowl schedule is jam-packed with high-stakes games, wild finishes, and moments people will be talking about for years. The national champion gets crowned on Monday, January 19, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Not a bad place to finish the journey, right?
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Kickoff to Bowl Season
Bowl season gets rolling on December 13 at noon with the Cricket Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. South Carolina State edged out Prairie View A&M in a nail-biter, 40-38, and honestly, that’s the kind of energy you hope carries through the rest of the games.
This year, there are 36 bowl games, plus the 11 CFP matchups. That’s 47 games in all—enough to keep die-hard fans glued to their screens for weeks. If you’re wondering where to watch, 42 of those games are on ESPN or ABC, so you probably won’t have to hunt too hard to catch the action.
First-Round Action
The first round of the CFP brings four games played at campus sites on December 19 and 20. These games matter—a lot. Win here, and you’re into the quarterfinals.
- No. 9 Alabama 34, No. 8 Oklahoma 24 at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Norman, Oklahoma)
- No. 10 Miami 10, No. 7 Texas A&M 3 at Kyle Field (College Station, Texas)
- No. 6 Ole Miss 41, No. 11 Tulane 10 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (Oxford, Mississippi)
- No. 5 Oregon 51, No. 12 James Madison 34 at Autzen Stadium (Eugene, Oregon)
CFP Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals are set at the classic New Year’s Six bowls. Stakes are high, nerves are higher.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
No. 10 Miami faces No. 2 Ohio State at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on December 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET. ESPN’s got the coverage.
Capital One Orange Bowl
No. 5 Oregon and No. 4 Texas Tech meet at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, January 1 at noon ET. Yep, still ESPN.
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential
No. 9 Alabama takes on No. 1 Indiana at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, January 1 at 4 p.m. ET. You know the drill—ESPN.
Allstate Sugar Bowl
No. 6 Ole Miss squares off with No. 3 Georgia at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, January 1 at 8 p.m. ET. Tune in to ESPN for this one too.
CFP Semifinals and National Championship
Things really heat up with the CFP Semifinals.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, hosts the first semifinal January 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET. ESPN’s your friend here.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is the place for the second semifinal on January 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Again, ESPN.
And then, finally, the big one: the CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, January 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET. It’s all on ESPN, as you’d expect.
Notable Bowl Games
Outside the CFP, there are still some matchups that just feel special. A few to keep an eye on:
- Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Washington State vs. Utah State on December 22 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho.
- Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl: California vs. Hawaii on December 24 at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Honolulu.
- TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Virginia vs. Missouri on December 27 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
- Valero Alamo Bowl: USC vs. TCU on December 30 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
- Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Michigan vs. Texas on December 31 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Key Takeaways
The 2025-2026 college football bowl season is shaping up to be one wild ride. We’ll see the usual powerhouse teams, but there’s always room for a few surprise underdogs to shake things up.
This time around, the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff format is in play. That means more teams get a shot, and honestly, who doesn’t love a good upset?
Fans can expect a bunch of high-stakes games. Everything wraps up with the national championship game in Miami—should be a spectacle.
Want the full schedule, matchups, and broadcast times? You can find all the details here: 2025-2026 college football playoff bowl schedule.
