College Football Playoff sets 2024-25 schedule, kickoff times, TV designations

By Kevin Kelley -

The College Football Playoff has announced the 2024-25 schedule, kickoff times, and TV designations for the first year of the expanded 12-team format.

The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff will begin on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024 with a First Round game at 8:00pm ET and it will be televised live by ABC and ESPN.

CFP First Round action continues on Saturday, Dec. 21 with three games, beginning at noon ET and continuing at 4:00pm ET on TNT. Then at 8:00pm ET, the final First Round contest will kickoff on ABC and ESPN.

All First Round action will be played at the home stadium of the higher seeded team. Those teams and sites will be announced on Selection Day (Dec. 8).

The College Football Playoff quarterfinals begin on New Year’s Eve (Tuesday, Dec. 31) with the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. The game will be televised by ESPN at 7:30pm ET.

Quarterfinal round action continues on New Year’s Day, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, with games at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Ga. (1:00pm ET, ESPN), Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, Calif. (5:00pm ET, ESPN), and Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La. (8:45pm ET, ESPN).

The College Football Playoff Semifinals this season will be played on consecutive weeknights in January. The Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Fla., is up first on Thursday, Jan. 9, followed by the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Friday, Jan. 10. Both games will be televised by ESPN at 7:30pm ET.

The College Football National Championship concludes the college football season on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. The two playoff semifinal winners will meet at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and the game will be televised by ESPN at 7:30pm ET.

Check out the complete schedule for the 2024-25 College Football Playoff below:

FIRST-ROUND GAMES

Friday, Dec. 20, 2024
CFP First Round Game – 8pm, ABC & ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024
CFP First Round Game – Noon, TNT
CFP First Round Game – 4pm, TNT
CFP First Round Game – 8pm, ABC & ESPN

QUARTERFINAL ROUND GAMES

Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl – 7:30pm, ESPN

Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl – 1pm, ESPN
Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential – 5pm, ESPN
Allstate Sugar Bowl – 8:45pm, ESPN

SEMIFINAL ROUND GAMES

Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025
Capital One Orange Bowl – 7:30pm, ESPN

Friday, Jan. 10, 2025
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic – 7:30pm, ESPN

Monday, Jan. 20, 2025
CFP National Championship (Atlanta, Ga.) – 7:30pm, ESPN

College Football Playoff Schedule

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Comments (6)

Remember other Networks have Sports obligations that have to take care of it & Turner needed to fill a vacancy for CFB Playoff.

Semifinal games are on Thursday and Friday night?
I get that they don’t want to go up against the NFL playoffs, but I feel like Saturday at 12:30 PM ET would be better than Thursday night for fans travelling to the game and for watching it on tv.