The New Year’s Day football 2026 schedule features three games, and all three are College Football Playoff Quarterfinal contests.
New Year’s Day bowl action kicks off on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, at noon ET, as the 5‑seed Oregon Ducks of the Big Ten meet the 4‑seed Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12 in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Fla. ESPN will televise the game.
Up next is the “Granddaddy of Them All,” the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game. The 9‑seed Alabama Crimson Tide of the SEC take on the top‑seed Indiana Hoosiers of the Big Ten, with kickoff set for 4:00pm ET on ESPN.
New Year’s Day concludes with the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl at 8:00pm ET on ESPN. The 3‑seed Georgia Bulldogs of the SEC face the 6‑seed Ole Miss Rebels, also of the SEC, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La.
The winners of the Cotton Bowl and Sugar Bowl will advance to the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. The Orange and Rose Bowl champions will meet in the other semifinal at the Chick‑fil‑A Peach Bowl on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.
The college football season concludes on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, when the two semifinal winners square off in the College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
New Year’s Day Football: 2026 Schedule
THURSDAY, JAN. 1, 2026
CFP Quarterfinal – Capital One Orange Bowl
(5) Oregon vs. (4) Texas Tech
Hard Rock Stadium – Miami Gardens, FL
12:00pm ET | ESPN
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CFP Quarterfinal – Rose Bowl Game
(9) Alabama vs. (1) Indiana
Rose Bowl Stadium – Pasadena, CA
4:00pm ET | ESPN
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CFP Quarterfinal – Allstate Sugar Bowl
(6) Ole Miss vs. (3) Georgia
Caesars Superdome – New Orleans, LA
8:00pm ET | ESPN
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Football Schedules
WHY IN THE HELL IS espn DOMINATING THE COLLEGE BOWL? iT IS CLOSE TO A MONOPOLY
ESPN needs $$$$$
Because they were the highest bidder.
ESPN wants programming and they’re willing to pay.
i agree espn sux
Granddaddy of them all Rose Bowl Indiana vs Alabama should be fantastic.
As long as Alabama loses BIG!
CFP is a perfect fit for ESPN.
Fully agree with ESPN & Richard.
Happy 2026 everybody.
The headline is misleading. ESPN is NOT TV. It is cable. Putting the games on ESPN means they don’t want anyone to watch any of the games.
Hello, RG. I am from the future.
In the future, over-the-air television loses its relevance until eventually most of the nation switches over to cable. But this was only temporary, as internet streaming will become the main means for viewing content in the United States and the world.
Instead of only being able to access local stations, people will be able to see content from around the country and the world, with just the click of a button.
You’re going to love it.
What does a cable plug in to?
Excellent news if you want to watch ESPN without having Xfinity, You Tube TV or Direct TV. There is ESPN Bundle & it’s $30.00 a month to watch sporting events like Buccaneers at Lions, Cubs at Brewers, Knicks at Pacers, Kings at Sharks & CFB games like Vanderbilt at Georgia & Cal Poly at Montana State.
its espn or no football that really sux but im not giving them a penny.
CFP is definitely not ready for over-the-air television.
We have all stopped watching college football because we dislike that we already have to pay for cable etc but we don’t have espn. We have network TV. And those used to carry the games and it was such a fun community and family time. Now, so much of the way college football is handled is about betting and greed. It’s no longer fun for us. This is our opinion. Anyway, for folks who turn it off, I hope you feel very free doing that. We need to get back to the things that are the most important.
We?
13 games this season so far have had over 10 million viewers.
1. Ohio State-Michigan — 18.4 million (Fox)
2. Indiana-Ohio State, Big Ten Championship — 18.3 million (Fox)
3. Georgia-Alabama, SEC Championship — 16.9 million (ABC)
4. Texas-Ohio State — 16.6 million (Fox)
5. Texas A&M-Texas — 13.04 million (ABC)
6. Georgia-Tennessee — 12.58 million (ABC)
7. Alabama-Auburn — 11.31 million (ABC)
8. Notre Dame-Miami — 10.8 million (ABC)
9. Alabama-Florida State — 10.66 million (ABC)
10. Oklahoma-Alabama — 10.48 million (ABC)
11. LSU-Clemson — 10.45 million (ABC)
12. Texas-Georgia — 10.43 million (ABC)
13. Alabama-Georgia — 10.42 million (ABC)
Who isn’t watching exactly and why should anyone care?
Just want to let you know Elizabeth that I am pulling for Harvard-Yale to be on network TV ABC November 21st & continue its traditional noon kickoff.
betting Miami wins everything….although Indiana should win…..my FAV OSU out.