2026-27 College Football Playoff, bowl schedule - ESPN

In college football, bowl season is truly the most wonderful time of the year.

Over the course of six weeks, 35 bowl games and 11 College Football Playoff games will be held (one game, the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl, is still being scheduled). The Cricket Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta kicks off bowl season Saturday, Dec. 12.

A new bowl game is being welcomed to the schedule: The Puerto Rico Bowl will be held Tuesday, Dec. 22, at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. We'll also see a Christmas Eve doubleheader with the Isleta New Mexico Bowl and the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, plus ABC will showcase bowl season tripleheaders Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.

The CFP begins with four first-round games played at campus sites Dec. 18-19. The quarterfinals will be played Dec. 30-Jan. 1, with the semifinals following two weeks later Jan. 14-15. The playoff will come to an end with the national championship game on Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Here's the schedule for 2026-27 playoff and bowl games.

All times Eastern

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College Football Playoff | Bowl games

First-round games (at campus sites)

Friday, Dec. 18

Game 1
8 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 19

Game 2
Noon on ABC

Game 3
3:30 p.m. on TNT

Game 4
7:30 p.m. on TNT

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)
7:30 p.m. on TNT

Friday, Jan. 1

Quarterfinals Game 2
Noon on TNT

Quarterfinals Game 3
4 p.m. on ABC

Quarterfinals Game 4
8 p.m. on ESPN

Thursday, Jan. 14

Capital One Orange Bowl
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida)
7:30 p.m. on TNT

Friday, Jan. 15

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
7:30 p.m. on ABC

Friday, Jan. 25

2027 CFP National Championship
Allegiant Stadium