The College Football Playoff finalized schedules for the 2024 and 2025 seasons this week.
After CFP committee members agreed to dates and time slots for the four first-round games, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals last week, executive director of the CFP Bill Hancock said he was pleased to make the schedules official on Tuesday.
"We are pleased to be able to announce game dates today," Hancock said. "We appreciate the efforts of all the parties involved in finalizing this schedule. This is the next significant step in bringing clarity to the launch of the 12-team playoff format in 2024. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but this is an important milestone along the way."
The approved schedules feature the Fiesta Bowl and Cotton Bowl as the two New Year's Eve kickoff slots in both seasons, as the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl retain their traditional kickoff times on New Year's Day. Additionally, the CFP semifinals will be the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl in 2024 and the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl in 2025.
In 2024, one first-round game will be played on Friday, Dec. 20, while the other three contests will occur on Saturday, Dec. 21. Those matchups will be played at sites of the better seed (No. 12 at No. 5; No. 11 at No. 6; No. 10 at No. 7; No. 9 at No. 8).
The CFP quarterfinals will take place on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Both holidays and their respective matchups are on weeknights as the CFP committee does not want to conflict with NFL games on the weekends. The Fiesta Bowl is the lone bowl game on Tuesday, Dec. 31 and the Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025.
One week later, the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl will host the CFP semifinals on Friday, Jan. 9 and Saturday, Jan. 10. The CFP national championship will wrap up the 12-team playoff on Monday, Jan. 20, in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the same venue that hosts the Peach Bowl.
In 2025, the schedule looks similar but features a few changes. One first-round game will be played on Friday, Dec. 19, while three contests will occur on Saturday, Dec. 20. For the second consecutive season, the CFP quarterfinals will take place on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. However, the Cotton Bowl stands alone on Wednesday, Dec. 31 as the Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will be played on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026.
The Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will serve as the respective CFP semifinals the following week on Thursday, Jan. 8 and Friday, Jan. 9. The CFP national championship will then conclude the playoff on Monday, Jan. 19 in Houston at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans.
Schedules for the 2026 playoff and beyond are not complete. The CFP’s television contract with ESPN ends after the 2025 playoff, opening a window for a new media partner to televise the games. The CFP committee is expected to work toward the next iteration of the playoff in the coming months but is expected to maintain a 12-team format.
According to Ross Dellenger and Richard Johnson of Sports Illustrated and Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic, CFP leaders hope to finalize a host of minor details, mainly involved with the first-round matchups, including ticket prices, visitor allotments and more before 2023 ends.
| 2024 | 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DATE | BOWL GAME | DATE | BOWL GAME |
| Dec. 20, 2024 | CFP First Round (1 game in the evening) | Dec. 19, 2025 | CFP First Round (1 game in the evening) |
| Dec. 21, 2024 | CFP First Round (3 games in the early afternoon, late afternoon and evening) | Dec. 20, 2025 | CFP First Round (3 games in the early afternoon, late afternoon and evening) |
| Dec. 31, 2024 | Fiesta Bowl | Dec. 31, 2025 | Cotton Bowl |
| Jan. 1, 2025 | Peach Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl (late afternoon), Sugar Bowl (evening) | Jan. 1, 2026 | Orange Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl (late afternoon), Sugar Bowl (evening) |
| Jan. 9, 2025 | Orange Bowl | Jan. 8, 2026 | Fiesta Bowl |
| Jan. 10, 2025 | Cotton Bowl | Jan. 9, 2026 | Peach Bowl |
| Jan. 20, 2025 | CFP National Championship | Jan. 19, 2026 | CFP National Championship |
