ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JANUARY 20: Head coach Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes hoist the trophy after beating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23 in the 2025 CFP National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
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After much controversy over the exclusion of Notre Dame, the 2025-26 College Football Playoff bracket is set.
This is the second year the CFP is using a 12-team format. The bracket and matchups were announced on Sunday, Dec. 7. Indiana is the No. 1 seed.
Games are Dec. 19, 2025 to Jan. 19, 2026, with the first round on Dec. 19-20, quarterfinals on Dec. 31-Jan. 1, semifinals on Jan. 8-9 and finally the CFP National Championship Game on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla.
No. 2 seed Ohio State is the betting favorite (11/5 +220) to win its second straight CFP title, followed by No. 1 and Big Ten championship game winner Indiana (11/4 +275) and SEC championship game victor Georgia (5/1).
Check out the full schedule below along with odds via Betonline.ag and my Predictions.
2025-26 College Football Playoff schedule, games
- First round (Dec. 19-20)
- Friday, Dec. 19
- No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Alabama, 8 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN, WatchESPN
- Prediction: Alabama
- Saturday, Dec. 20:
- No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami (Fla.), 12 p.m. on ABC, ESPN, WatchESPN
- Prediction: Texas A&M
- No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Tulane, 3:30 p.m. on TNT, truTV, HBO Max
- Prediction: Ole Miss
- No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 James Madison, 7:30 p.m. on TNT, truTV, HBO Max
- Prediction: Oregon
- Friday, Dec. 19
- Quarterfinals (Dec. 31-Jan. 1)
- Wednesday, Dec. 31
- No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Texas A&M/No. 10 Miami (Fla.) winner | Cotton Bowl | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- Thursday, Jan. 1
- No. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oregon/No. 12 James Madison winner | Orange Bowl | 12 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 8 Oklahoma/No. 9 Alabama winner | Rose Bowl | 4 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Ole Miss/No. 11 Tulane winner | Sugar Bowl | 8 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- Wednesday, Dec. 31
- Semifinals (Jan. 8-9)
- Thursday, Jan. 8
- Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Ariz.) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- Friday, Jan. 9
- Peach Bowl (Atlanta) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- Thursday, Jan. 8
- College Football Playoff National Championship Game
- Monday, Jan. 19
- Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- Monday, Jan. 19
BETTING ODDS
CFP First Round Games
JMU at Oregon (-20.5, 50.5)
Tulane at Ole Miss (-16.5, 56.5)
Miami at Texas A&M (-3.5, 51.5)
Alabama at Oklahoma (pick’em, 40.5)
CFP Quarterfinals
Oregon vs. Texas Tech (+2)
James Madison vs. Texas Tech (-14)
Alabama vs. Indiana (-4.5)
Oklahoma vs. Indiana (-6)
Texas A&M vs. Ohio State (-9)
Miami vs. Ohio State (-7.5)
Ole Miss vs. Georgia (-6.5)
Tulane vs. Georgia (-17.5)
HISTORY
Year (Game Date). Game. LOCATION
2015. No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Oregon 20, Arlington, TX
2016 No. 2 Alabama 45, No. 1 Clemson 40 Glendale, AZ
2017 No. 2 Clemson 35, No. 1 Alabama 31 Tampa, FL
2018 No. 4 Alabama 26, No. 3 Georgia 23 Atlanta, GA
2019 No. 2 Clemson 44, No. 1 Alabama 16 Santa Clara, CA
2020 No. 1 LSU 42, No. 3 Clemson 25 New Orleans, LA
2021 No. 1 Alabama 52, No. 3 Ohio State 24 Miami Gardens, FL
2022 No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18 Indianapolis, IN
2023 No. 1 Georgia 65, No. 3 TCU 7 Inglewood, CA
2024 No. 1 Michigan 34, No. 2 Washington 13 Houston, TX
2025 No. 8 Ohio State 34, No. 7 Notre Dame 23 Atlanta, GA
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamzagoria/2025/12/09/cfp-national-championship-2026-predictions-odds-and-matchups/
