THE 2026–27 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
Twelve teams.
One road to Las Vegas.
From campus stadiums to the national championship. The dates are set. The field arrives on Selection Sunday, December 6.
What happens on Selection SundayThe noon, 4 p.m., and 8 p.m. ET broadcast windows are announced. Cotton, Peach, and Rose will be assigned to those windows on December 6.
First round
DECEMBER 18–19
Seeds 5–12 play at the higher seed’s home site. The pairings are 12 at 5, 11 at 6, 10 at 7, and 9 at 8. The four TV slots below have not yet been assigned to specific pairings.
CFP First Round Friday
ESPN
CFP First Round Saturday noon
ABC / ESPN
CFP First Round Saturday afternoon
TNT / truTV / HBO Max
CFP First Round Saturday night
TNT / truTV / HBO Max
Quarterfinals
DECEMBER 30 & JANUARY 1
The top four seeds receive first-round byes. Quarterfinal sites are selected through the CFP process, with the bracket determining the opponents. There is no reseeding.
Fiesta Bowl
State Farm Stadium · Glendale · TNT / truTV / HBO Max
Peach Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium · Atlanta
Cotton Bowl Classic
AT&T Stadium · Arlington
Rose Bowl Game
Rose Bowl Stadium · Pasadena
Semifinals
JANUARY 14–15
National
championship
JANUARY 25
HOW THE FIELD IS SET
The selection, explained.
The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC champions qualify, along with the highest-ranked team from the American, CUSA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, or Sun Belt.
Seven at-large places complete the field. Notre Dame receives automatic access if it is in the final CFP top 12, leaving six other at-large places.
The top four seeds receive byes. There is no reseeding or adjustment to avoid regular-season rematches or same-conference matchups.