The College Football Playoff is expanding from four teams to 12 teams starting in 2024 and the dates and sites of the playoff games have now been finalized through the 2024 and ’25 seasons.
Released by the Cotton Bowl on Tuesday, here’s what the CFP will look like in the first two years of expansion.
2024 CFP dates and sites
First round (home sites)
Dec. 20, 2024 — One game.
Dec. 21, 2024 — Three games.
Quarterfinals
Dec. 31, 2024 — Fiesta Bowl.
Jan. 1, 2025 — Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl.
Semifinals
Jan. 9, 2025 — Orange Bowl.
Jan. 10, 2025 — Cotton Bowl.
Championship
Jan. 20, 2025 — Peach Bowl
2025 CFP dates and sites
First round (home sites)
Dec. 19, 2025 — One game.
Dec. 20, 2025 — Three games.
Quarterfinals
Dec. 31, 2025 — Cotton Bowl.
Jan. 1, 2026 — Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl.
Semifinals
Jan. 8, 2026 — Fiesta Bowl.
Jan. 9, 2026 — Peach Bowl.
Championship
Jan. 19, 2026 — Orange Bowl.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, the CFP will go head-to-head with the NFL thanks to expansion, something conference commissioners had hoped to avoid.
“The NFL’s schedule has been a significant talking point for commissioners,” Dellenger writes. “The pro league’s schedule continues to encroach into traditional college football territory, as the NFL expanded its own playoff to create an additional wild-card game and started to dominate Thursday nights with their streaming package on Amazon. Its latest move came in the fall, when the NFL announced it would begin playing games on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that has for years belonged to college football.
“All of it had college football executives stewing as they attempted to schedule eight additional games in an expanded playoff while trying to avoid going head-to-head with America’s No. 1 sport.”