College Football Playoff Schedule 2026-27: Bowl Games, Dates and Championship Path1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 15The College Football Playoff schedule for 2026-27 begins Friday, December 18, with the first of four campus games and concludes Monday, January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The playoff remains a 12-team competition. Four first-round games will be played on campus, followed by quarterfinals at the Fiesta, Peach, Cotton and Rose bowls. The Orange and Sugar bowls host the semifinals.

Fans following the selection race and postseason structure can use this College Football Playoff guide alongside the official CFP announcements. The participating teams and campus locations will not be known until Selection Day on December 6.

College Football Playoff Schedule 2026-27

Date	Game	Time ET	TV
Friday, Dec. 18	First Round at campus site	8 p.m.	ESPN
Saturday, Dec. 19	First Round at campus site	Noon	ABC and ESPN
Saturday, Dec. 19	First Round at campus site	3:30 p.m.	TNT , truTV and HBO Max
Saturday, Dec. 19	First Round at campus site	7:30 p.m.	TNT , truTV and HBO Max
Wednesday, Dec. 30	Fiesta Bowl quarterfinal	7:30 p.m.	TNT , truTV and HBO Max
Friday, Jan. 1	Quarterfinal bowl	Noon	TNT , truTV and HBO Max
Friday, Jan. 1	Quarterfinal bowl	4 p.m.	ABC and ESPN
Friday, Jan. 1	Quarterfinal bowl	8 p.m.	ESPN
Thursday, Jan. 14	Orange Bowl semifinal	7:30 p.m.	TNT , truTV and HBO Max
Friday, Jan. 15	Sugar Bowl semifinal	7:30 p.m.	ABC and ESPN
Monday, Jan. 25	CFP National Championship	7:30 p.m.	ABC and ESPN

How Teams Qualify for the 12-Team Playoff

The 2026-27 field consists of 12 teams. The format guarantees places to the champions of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, plus the highest- ranked champion from the American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-12 or Sun Belt. The next seven highest-ranked teams complete the bracket.

Notre Dame qualifies if it finishes inside the top 12 of the final CFP rankings. Unlike earlier versions of the 12-team system, conference championships do not automatically determine the top four seeds. The committee ranks the field, and the bracket follows the approved selection rules.

First Round: December 18-19

The first round consists of four games at campus sites. The higher-seeded team hosts, rewarding programs that finish near the top of the rankings without receiving a direct path to the quarterfinals.

Campus games also create environments that are different from traditional neutral-site bowls. 16The round begins Friday night on ESPN. Saturday then features a three-game schedule beginning at noon. TNT Sports enters the CFP package with two Saturday first-round games. Those matchups will also air on truTV and stream through HBO Max.

Selection Day is Sunday, December 6. The committee will announce the bracket, seeds and host campuses at that time.

Quarterfinals: Fiesta, Peach, Cotton and Rose Bowls

The quarterfinal round begins December 30 with the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. The remaining three quarterfinals take place on New Year’s Day at the Peach Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Rose Bowl. Their exact noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. television windows will be assigned on Selection Day.

The top three seeds receive an additional strategic benefit beginning in 2026. In ranking order, they can select their preferred bowl path. This removes historic conference bowl tie-ins from the assignment process. A highly seeded team can consider geography, potential travel, rest and its preferred semifinal route.

For example, a western team may value the Rose or Fiesta path, while a southeastern program may prefer the Peach Bowl. The selection creates a new tactical element before the games begin.

Semifinals: Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl

The Orange Bowl hosts the first semifinal on Thursday, January 14, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. TNT , truTV and HBO Max will carry the game, marking TNT Sports’ first CFP semifinal under the expanded broadcast agreement. The Sugar Bowl follows Friday, January 15, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

ABC and ESPN will simulcast that semifinal. The two-week break between the New Year’s Day quarterfinals and semifinals provides recovery time, but it also extends the postseason deep into January.

2027 National Championship in Las Vegas

The national championship will be played Monday, January 25, at Allegiant Stadium. It will be the first CFP title game held in Las Vegas. ABC and ESPN will broadcast the game at 7:30 p.m.

Eastern. The finalists will have 10 days between the Sugar Bowl semifinal and the championship, or 11 days if they advance through the Orange Bowl. 17Las Vegas has become an increasingly important host for major football events, and Allegiant Stadium provides an indoor venue with modern media and hospitality infrastructure.

How the Championship Path Works

A team playing in the first round must win four playoff games to become national champion. Its path would include a campus first-round game, one quarterfinal bowl, one semifinal bowl and the championship in Las Vegas. A team that does not play in the first round would need three victories.

The exact advantage attached to seeding depends on the final bracket and the current selection format. Travel may become a major factor. A team could play on campus in one region, travel to a bowl on the opposite side of the country and then move again for a semifinal and the national championship.

Important CFP Dates Before the Games

Selection Day: Sunday, December 6. The CFP committee will reveal the final rankings, 12 participating teams, seeds, first-round hosts and quarterfinal assignments.

Weekly rankings during November will provide guidance but do not lock teams into positions. Conference championship results can still change the bracket immediately before Selection Day.

What Is Different in 2026-27?

The most important changes involve bowl selection and broadcasting. The top three seeds can select their quarterfinal bowl paths after historic conference tie-ins were removed. This gives highly ranked teams more influence over geography and their route through the bracket.

TNT Sports will also show games in each of the first three rounds, including an Orange Bowl semifinal. ABC gains simulcasts of selected ESPN games, including the championship. The playoff remains at 12 teams rather than expanding again for the 2026 season.

Final Schedule Takeaway

The 2026-27 College Football Playoff runs from December 18 to January 25 and contains 11 games. Four campus matchups open the tournament. The Fiesta, Peach, Cotton and Rose bowls host the quarterfinals, while the Orange and Sugar bowls determine the finalists.

The season ends in Las Vegas, where the remaining two teams will play for the national championship at Allegiant Stadium. 18Teams and first-round locations will be confirmed December 6. Until then, the official schedule establishes the path, but not the programs that will travel it. Sources: College Football Playoff, “2026-27 CFP Broadcast Schedule Revealed.” College Football Playoff official 2026-27 bracket and bowl-site announcement. College Football Playoff, July 9, 2026 announcement of future quarterfinal and semifinal rotations.

NCAA.com College Football Playoff schedule page. College Football Playoff official format explanation.1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 19