when is the college football playoffs

The College Football Playoff for the 2025–26 season runs from December 19, 2025 through the national championship game on January 19, 2026.

Key dates

• First-round games at campus sites: December 19–20, 2025.

• Quarterfinals (New Year’s bowls): December 31, 2025 and January 1, 2026.

• Semifinal games: January 8–9, 2026.

• CFP National Championship: Monday, January 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Quick Scoop

• The playoff now uses a 12-team format, with first-round games on campus before moving into the major bowl sites for quarterfinals and semifinals.

• Dates shift slightly year to year, but you can expect a similar late-December to mid-January window going forward.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.