College Football Playoff Schedule Released for 2024 Season

This season will mark the inaugural year for the CFP's 12-team format.

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; The 2024 CFP logo on the field before the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Washington Huskies at NRG Stadium. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The College Football Playoff released the full schedule for the playoff games in 2024 on Wednesday, giving college football fans a full six months to prepare for watch parties.

The announcement included dates, kickoff times and broadcast information regarding the CFP games. This year's announcement is particularly significant as it's the first year the CFP is doing a 12-team format. The schedule will look different because of that, with a first round and quarterfinals bracket introduced this year.

Take a look at the schedule for the College Football Playoff this upcoming season, all the way up until the National Championship is played on Monday, Jan. 20.

When Does the College Football Playoff Start?

The College Football Playoff will kick off on Friday, Dec. 20 with one first round game being played, followed by the three other first round games taking place on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Full Schedule for the 2024–25 College Football Playoff

With 12 teams now competing for the national title, the CFP will be played over the course of a month.

Here's the full broadcast schedule for the playoffs.

Playoff Game	Date	Time	Channel
Playoff First Round	Friday, Dec. 20	8 p.m. ET	ABC/ESPN
Playoff First Round	Saturday, Dec. 21	12 p.m. ET	TNT
Playoff First Round	Saturday, Dec. 21	4 p.m. ET	TNT
Playoff First Round	Saturday, Dec. 21	8 p.m. ET	ABC/ESPN
Playoff Quarterfinals	Tuesday, Dec. 31	7:30 p.m. ET	ESPN
Playoff Quarterfinals	Wednesday, Jan. 1	1 p.m. ET	ESPN
Playoff Quarterfinals	Wednesday, Jan. 1	5 p.m. ET	ESPN
Playoff Quarterfinals	Wednesday, Jan. 1	8:45 p.m. ET	ESPN
Playoff Semifinals	Thursday, Jan. 9	7:30 p.m. ET	ESPN
Playoff Semifinals	Friday, Jan. 10	7:30 p.m. ET	ESPN
National Championship	Monday, Jan. 20	7:30 p.m. ET	ESPN

Why Will the College Football Playoff Have 12 Teams This Year?

The College Football Playoff adopted a new team format for the 2024–25 season, so the CFP will look different to fans. The top four ranked teams earn a bye for the first round, meaning the last eight teams will face off in the first round.

The first round will consist of four matchups: No. 5 vs. No. 12, No. 6 vs. No. 11, No. 7 vs. No. 10 and No. 8 vs. No. 9. The winning teams will advance to the quarterfinals to face the top four teams.

The quarterfinal matchups will be played as the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl will act as the semifinals matchup spots.

How Teams Qualify for the College Football Playoff

The 12 teams will be decided by the five highest-ranked conference champions, who receive automatic bids, followed by the seven highest-ranked teams remaining. The top four ranked teams will receive byes in the first round of the playoffs.

What the 2023–24 CFP Would Have Looked Like With 12-Team Format

The 2023 season still followed the four-team format. But, to help fans understand a bit better about what the 12-team format will look like, here's what last year's playoffs would've turned out with the 12-team format.

No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Alabama would've all received byes for the first round. They also all four ranked highest in their respective conferences.

No. 5 Florida State would've faced No. 12 Liberty, a team that jumped to the 12th spot over Oklahoma because they won their conference. The rest of the matchups would've been No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 11 Ole Miss, No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Penn State and No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 9 Missouri.

Where Will the National Championship Game Take Place?

The National Championship, which takes place on Monday, Jan. 20, will be played in Atlanta, Ga. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the Atlanta Falcons play.