The college football playoff schedule 2024-25 kicks off on Friday, December 20th, 2024, this year. This will be the first season that 12 teams can earn a spot in the playoffs. The 2025 National Championship game takes place on Monday, January 20th, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia.
In the first year after Nick Saban, we’ll have to wait and see if Alabama is back in the mix out of the super-competitive SEC. No matter what, being more inclusive with 12 teams will make it a lot more fun for more fans this college football season.
When do the College Football Playoffs Start?
The 2024-25 college football playoffs start on December 20th, 2024. This will be the first year that we see multiple rounds in the playoffs. The first round of games are held at the home field of the higher seed (or their preferred location). Once we hit the quarterfinals in the New Year, the games move to the major bowl series locations.
The 2025 College Football national championship is held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this year. By the way, in my experience, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium has to be one of the coolest ones out there. And, I’m not a Falcons or Georgia fan. It’s just crazy nice.
College Football Playoff Schedule 2024-25
First Round: December 20-21.
Quarterfinals: December 31-January 1.
Semifinals: January 9-10.
Championship: January 20.
2024-2025 College Football Playoff Schedule
| First Round | |||
| MATCHUP | DATE | TIME (ET) | TV |
| Game 1 | Dec. 20, 2024 | TBD | ESPN |
| Game 2 | Dec. 21, 2024 | TBD | ESPN |
| Game 3 | Dec. 21, 2024 | TBD | ESPN |
| Game 4 | Dec. 21, 2024 | TBD | ESPN |
| Quarterfinals | |||
| MATCHUP | DATE | TIME (ET) | TV |
| Fiesta Bowl | Dec. 31, 2024 | TBD | ESPN |
| Peach Bowl | Jan. 1, 2025 | TBD | ESPN |
| Rose Bowl | Jan. 1, 2025 | 5:00 PM | ESPN |
| Sugar Bowl | Jan. 1, 2025 | TBD | ESPN |
2024-25 College Football Playoffs – Semifinals and Championship Game
| Semifinals | |||
| MATCHUP | DATE | TIME (ET) | TV |
| Orange Bowl | Jan. 9, 2025 | 8:00 PM | ESPN |
| Cotton Bowl | Jan. 10, 2025 | TBD | ESPN |
| 2025 National Championship | |||
| GAME | DATE | TIME (ET) | TV |
| Semifinal Winners | Jan. 20, 2025 | 7:30 PM | ESPN |
What TV Channel are the College Football Playoffs on?
The 2024-25 NCAA college football playoffs are being broadcast on the ESPN networks this postseason. These channels include ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ABC….I missed the memo personally a while back that ABC now == ESPN, but there you go. If you pay for streaming, ESPN+ will be in the mix as well. We’ll update the TV skeds here as they give us more info closer to the time.
When is the College Football National Championship Game?
So, we do know that right now, the College Football National Championship game will be played on Monday, January 20th, 2025. The game is scheduled for kickoff at 7:30 PM ET.
*All dates/times subject to change.
Printable College Football Playoff Bracket – 2024-25
If you would like a printable college football playoff bracket for 2024-25, we have you covered there too. Our blank bracket is in PDF and image format for you to use however you would like. Most people like to print the bracket out to do their own projections throughout the season and take notes. No matter what, this should be a great year for college football.
