College Football Playoff announces full bowl schedule for 12-team playoff

The College Football Playoff announced the game dates and bowl assignments for the 2024 and 2025 college football seasons for the 12-team playoff format set to begin in 2024.

The CFP announced in December the playoff expansion. At the time, it was announced that Atlanta would host the national championship game following the first expansion season, on Jan. 20, 2025 and that the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl would be a the site for a quarterfinal game in 2024 and a semifinal game in 2025.

The 2024 season’s CFP quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will be played Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 in the early afternoon. The 2025 season’s CFP semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will be held Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 in prime time. Both games will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and exact kickoff times and television networks will be announced on a later date.

“We’re honored to be a key part of what will be a historic event in the evolution of college football,” Gary Stokan, CEO and president of Peach Bowl, said in a statement. “With Atlanta and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl hosting a CFP quarterfinal, CFP semifinal and the CFP national championship, all within a two-year stretch, there’s no doubt the city has solidified itself as the Capital of College Football.”

The first round of the CFP in 2024 will take place the week ending Saturday, Dec. 21, at either the home field of the higher-seeded team or at another site designated by the higher-seeded institution (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7 and No. 9 at No. 8).

For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the four quarterfinals games and two playoff semifinals games will be played in bowls on a rotating basis. The 2024 quarterfinals will take place in the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl will host the semifinals. The 2025 quarterfinals will take place in the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will host the semifinals.

As previously announced, the national championship games will be played Jan. 20, 2025, in Atlanta, and Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami.

The complete new schedule will be as follows:

2024 SEASON

First Round (On-Campus)

Friday, Dec. 20, 2024: One game (evening)

Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024: Three games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024: Fiesta Bowl (evening)

Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025: Peach Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl (late afternoon) and Sugar Bowl (evening)

Semifinals

Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025: Orange Bowl (evening)

Friday, Jan. 10, 2025: Cotton Bowl (evening)