As the first College Football Playoff Rankings for the 2024 college football season have arrived, attention has turned to the first iteration of the tournament that will feature a 12-team field. After a decade under the four-team format, more teams will be afforded the opportunity to play for a national championship, which means there will be more must-see postseason games in college football than ever before. 

Nine of the 11 games will be broadcast on ESPN, which extended its exclusive contract with the CFP. Two first-round games will appear on both ESPN and ABC; however, two other afternoon first-round games were sublicensed to TNT Sports. Turner is set to broadcast college football for the first time in nearly 20 years. Both TNT games will go directly up against NFL matchups. 

For the first time, postseason matchups will take place on campus sites in the first round. Seeds 5-12 will participate in the first round of the CFP, with games taking place on the campuses of higher-ranked seeds. Seeds 1-4 will receive a first-round bye and play their first games in the quarterfinals.

The 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship will take place Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The 2026 CFP title game will take place in Miami Gardens, Florida. No other sites have been announced as yet as the CFP starts instituting a new television contract during the 2026 season. 

All times Eastern

First round

Note: All games will be played at campus sites to be determined.

Friday, Dec. 20, 2024

  • 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)

Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024

  • 12 p.m. (TNT Sports)
  • 4 p.m. (TNT Sports)
  • 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024

  • Fiesta Bowl: 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) in Glendale, Arizona

Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025

  • Peach Bowl: 1 p.m. (ESPN) in Atlanta
  • Rose Bowl: 5 p.m. (ESPN) in Pasadena, California
  • Sugar Bowl: 8:45 p.m. (ESPN) in New Orleans

Semifinals

Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025

  • Orange Bowl: 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) in Miami Gardens, Florida

Friday, Jan. 10, 2025

No ad available
  • Cotton Bowl: 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) in Arlington, Texas

CFP National Championship

Monday, Jan. 20, 2025

  • Mercedes-Benz Stadium: 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) in Atlanta