Clemson Football: College Football Playoff dates set for 2024 and 2025

Clemson should be one of the main benefactors of the new 12-team College Football Playoff.

With the 2023 season representing the final year of the 4-team College Football Playoff format, we finally got our first look at what the future 12-team version will look like as the College Football Playoff announced the dates for all of the tournament's games in 2024 and 2025. 

Clemson figures to be a mainstay in the upcoming playoffs. The Tigers have won the ACC Championship in seven out of the past eight seasons and have finished ranked outside of the top-12 only twice in the CFP's history.

Clemson has the second most semifinal appearances (6) in the history of the College Football Playoff. (Clemson Athletics)

In the format, the top 4 conference champions will have a first-round bye. The first round will be played in the remaining higher seeds' home stadium. After that, the existing New Year's Six bowls (Rose, Sugar, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, and Peach) will rotate as either quarterfinals or semifinal destinations.

2024 Season

• First Round (On-Campus)
• Friday, December 20, 2024: One Game (evening)
• Saturday, December 21, 2024: Three Games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)
• Quarterfinals
• Tuesday, December 31, 2024: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (evening)
• Wednesday, January 1, 2025: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl Game (late afternoon) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (evening)
• Semifinals
• Thursday, January 9, 2025: Capital One Orange Bowl (evening)
• Friday, January 10, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (evening)
• CFP National Championship
• Monday, January 20, 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

2025 Season

• First Round (On-Campus)
• Friday, December 19, 2025: One Game (evening)
• Saturday, December 20, 2025: Three Games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)
• Quarterfinals
• Wednesday, December 31, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (evening)
• Thursday, January 1, 2026: Capital One Orange Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl Game (late afternoon) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (evening)
• Semifinals
• Thursday, January 8, 2026: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (evening)
• Friday, January 9, 2026: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (evening)
• CFP National Championship
• Monday, January 19, 2026: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

"We are pleased to be able to announce these game dates today," said Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff. "We appreciate the efforts of all the parties involved in finalizing this schedule. This is the next significant step in bringing clarity to the launch of the 12-team playoff format in 2024. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but this is an important milestone along the way."

More Clemson Football News:

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• Clemson Kicker Enters Transfer Portal
• Don't Pass Judgement on Clemson's Offense Yet

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