2026 College Football Playoff Broadcast Schedule Announced: Key Dates and Networks
The College Football Playoff (CFP) has dropped its broadcast schedule for the 2026-27 season, so Ohio State fans, grab your planners. ESPN, TNT Sports, and the CFP just announced kickoff times and broadcast details, and honestly, this lineup looks wild.
This year marks ESPN’s first go with its expanded rights package—five games will be sublicensed to TNT Sports. Here’s the breakdown, so you can start plotting those watch parties or maybe even a road trip.
Contents
First Round: Dec. 18–19
First round kicks off Friday, Dec. 18, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Then, on Saturday, Dec. 19, get ready for a tripleheader that’ll probably eat up your whole day.
- Friday, Dec. 18: 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Saturday, Dec. 19: Noon ET on ABC & ESPN
- 3:30 p.m. ET on TNT, TruTV, and HBO Max
- 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT, TruTV, and HBO Max
If Ohio State lands a top-four seed, they’ll get a first-round bye and be watching from home. But if the Buckeyes end up seeded 5–12, they’re playing, with all four games at campus sites (which we won’t know until Selection Day, Dec. 6).
Quarterfinals: Dec. 30 and Jan. 1
The quarterfinals are split: Wednesday, Dec. 30, and Friday, Jan. 1. These are the games everyone circles in red, with legendary bowl venues in the mix.
December 30
Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, gets things going on Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET. That one’s on TNT, TruTV, and HBO Max.
January 1
New Year’s Day brings three quarterfinal windows:
- Noon ET: TNT, TruTV, and HBO Max
- 4:00 p.m. ET: ABC and ESPN
- 8:00 p.m. ET: ESPN
We’ll get the official bowl assignments for the Peach, Cotton, and Rose Bowls on Selection Day. Until then, it’s all speculation.
Semifinals: January 14–15
Semifinals are back-to-back, so get ready for two nights of nervy, high-stakes football.
January 14
The Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens hosts the first semifinal on Thursday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m. ET. That one’s on TNT, TruTV, and HBO Max.
January 15
The next night, Friday, Jan. 15, ESPN and ABC simulcast the Sugar Bowl semifinal in New Orleans at 7:30 p.m. ET.
National Championship: January 25
The 2027 national championship wraps it all up on Monday, Jan. 25, 2027. ABC and ESPN will air the game live from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. You know that’s going to be one heck of a spectacle.
Ohio State’s Road to the Playoff
Ohio State’s 2026 football season is still a ways off, but the grind never really stops. Spring practice is rolling, and there’s always some fresh Buckeye news popping up.
After a rough 24-14 playoff quarterfinal loss to Miami in last year’s Cotton Bowl, the Buckeyes are definitely hungry for more. They’ve been in every 12-team playoff so far, took home the title in 2024, and, let’s be honest, expectations are sky-high again.
Ohio State’s Quarterback Legacy
Ohio State’s always had talent all over the field, but quarterback? That used to be a weird blind spot. For over 80 years, just two Buckeye quarterbacks went in the NFL Draft’s first round.
The offense just wasn’t built for passing, even with some great receivers. Quarterbacks were more afterthought than centerpiece.
But after that ugly loss to Clemson in the 2016 Playoff semifinal, things shifted. Urban Meyer realized they needed elite quarterback play or they’d keep coming up short.
He brought in Ryan Day as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach before the 2017 season. Day eventually took over as head coach, and suddenly top high school quarterbacks wanted in, hoping to be the next first-round NFL pick out of Columbus.
Looking Ahead: 2026 Season
For only the third time in the Day era, Ohio State will have a returning starting quarterback. Julian Sayin is back, so the Buckeyes aren’t scrambling to break in someone new at the game’s toughest position.
That’s a bit of a relief, honestly. It’s not always been this way—since 2000, Ohio State’s rolled out 16 different Week 1 starting quarterbacks.
The 2026 college football season is still months off, but, yeah, preparation’s already underway. Spring practice has kicked off, and it won’t be long before the news starts flying about next year’s Buckeyes.
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Curious about the College Football Playoff broadcast schedule? The official announcement is up on 247Sports.
