The College Football Playoff committee released its official bracket for the 2025–26 season on Sunday, Dec. 7, unveiling a competitive field and a schedule that will stretch from mid-December through the national championship on Jan. 19. The postseason will open with No. 8 Oklahoma hosting No. 9 Alabama at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 19, marking the first matchup of this year’s expanded playoff slate.
Indiana secured the No. 1 overall seed after finishing the regular season 13–0, earning a direct berth into the quarterfinal round. Ohio State, Georgia and Texas Tech rounded out the top four seeds, each receiving byes under the CFP format that grants automatic advancement to the four highest-ranked teams, regardless of conference finish.
Though the bracket is based on the committee’s final top-25 rankings released on Dec. 7, seeding does not always correspond directly with those rankings because the system guarantees playoff spots to the five highest-ranked conference champions, even when those teams appear lower in the rankings or outside the top 25 entirely.
2025–26 College Football Playoff Schedule
First Round — Dec. 19–20, 2025
| Date | Matchup | Time (ET) | Networks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Dec 19 | No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Alabama | 8:00 PM | ABC, ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Sat, Dec 20 | No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami (Fla.) | 12:00 PM | ABC, ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Sat, Dec 20 | No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Tulane | 3:30 PM | TNT, truTV, HBO Max |
| Sat, Dec 20 | No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 James Madison | 7:30 PM | TNT, truTV, HBO Max |
Quarterfinals — Dec. 31, 2025 – Jan. 1, 2026
| Date | Matchup | Bowl | Time (ET) | Networks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, Dec 31 | No. 2 Ohio State vs. Winner of Texas A&M/Miami | Cotton Bowl | 7:30 PM | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Thu, Jan 1 | No. 4 Texas Tech vs. Winner of Oregon/James Madison | Orange Bowl | 12:00 PM | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Thu, Jan 1 | No. 1 Indiana vs. Winner of Oklahoma/Alabama | Rose Bowl | 4:00 PM | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Thu, Jan 1 | No. 3 Georgia vs. Winner of Ole Miss/Tulane | Sugar Bowl | 8:00 PM | ESPN, WatchESPN |
Semifinals — Jan. 8–9, 2026
| Date | Bowl | Location | Time (ET) | Networks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Jan 8 | Fiesta Bowl | Glendale, Arizona | 7:30 PM | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Fri, Jan 9 | Peach Bowl | Atlanta, Georgia | 7:30 PM | ESPN, WatchESPN |
National Championship — Jan. 19, 2026
| Date | Location | Time (ET) | Networks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Jan 19 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida | 7:30 PM | ESPN, WatchESPN |
College Football Playoff Rankings & Records
| Rank | Team | Record | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indiana | 13–0 | First-round bye |
| 2 | Ohio State | 12–1 | First-round bye |
| 3 | Georgia | 12–1 | First-round bye |
| 4 | Texas Tech | 12–1 | First-round bye |
| 5 | Oregon | 11–1 | Automatic bid |
| 6 | Ole Miss | 11–1 | Automatic bid |
| 7 | Texas A&M | 11–1 | Automatic bid |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 10–2 | At-large |
| 9 | Alabama | 10–3 | At-large |
| 10 | Miami (Fla.) | 10–2 | At-large |
The opening weekend of the playoff will continue on Saturday, Dec. 20, with Texas A&M meeting Miami at noon, followed by Ole Miss facing Tulane at 3:30 p.m. and Oregon hosting James Madison at 7:30 p.m. Winners from these first-round games will advance to the quarterfinals on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, where the nation’s top four teams await at traditional New Year’s Six bowl sites. Ohio State will open its postseason at the Cotton Bowl against the winner of Texas A&M and Miami, while Texas Tech will compete in the Orange Bowl against the Oregon–James Madison victor. Indiana will take the field in the Rose Bowl to face either Oklahoma or Alabama, and Georgia will head to the Sugar Bowl to challenge the winner of Ole Miss and Tulane.
Unlike the opening round, none of the quarterfinal contests will be played on campus. Instead, the committee has preserved historic bowl relationships while balancing seeding considerations to determine placement. The winners of these four marquee games will progress to a pair of semifinal matchups, scheduled for Jan. 8 at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, and Jan. 9 at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Under the current structure, there is no re-seeding once the tournament begins, meaning that if all top seeds prevail, No. 1 would meet No. 4, while No. 2 would face No. 3 in the semifinals.
The playoff will conclude on Monday, Jan. 19, when the two remaining teams travel to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, for the College Football Playoff National Championship. With Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia and Texas Tech entering the postseason on strong footing, and programs like Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma poised to challenge, the 2025–26 bracket promises one of the most compelling championship races in the playoff era.
