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College Football Playoff Announces 2024-25 Broadcast Schedule

The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff includes two on-campus night games.

Mark Wogenrich

The College Football Playoff logo on the field at State Farm Stadium.
The College Football Playoff logo on the field at State Farm Stadium. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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The 2024 College Football Playoff on Wednesday announced the schedule for the first 12-team playoff, which prompted one notable observation: Could Penn State football actually host a playoff White Out in December?

While we don't know the date for the 2024 Penn State White Out, we do know that the first round of on-campus dates in the expanded playoff era will include two night games. The 2024 College Football Playoff will open with an 8 p.m. kickoff Dec. 20 on ABC/ESPN. That first-round game will feature teams seeded 5th through 12th, with the higher seed hosting the playoff.

The College Football Playoff will follow with a tripleheader Dec. 21. The games are scheduled for noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. TNT will broadcast the noon and 4 p.m. games, with ABC/ESPN getting the prime-time matchup.

The College Football Playoff continues on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, as four bowl games will host the quarterfinals. The Fiesta Bowl kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 31. The New Year's Day tripleheader begins with the Peach Bowl at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the Rose Bowl in its traditional 5 p.m. ET time slot. The Sugar Bowl will kick off at 8:45 p.m.

The semifinals are scheduled for Jan. 9-10. The Orange Bowl kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 9, and the Cotton Bowl begins at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 10. The College Football Playoff championship game is scheduled for Jan. 20 in Atlanta.

As part of the expanded playoff, four teams will host on-campus home games for the first time in FBS playoff history. Penn State already has rescheduled its fall graduation in anticipation of potentially hosting a playoff game. The allure of a night playoff game at Beaver Stadium, in White Out (and potentially snowy "whiteout") conditions in December would be difficult to pass up for Penn State. Even though the program still hasn't announced when it will play the actual 2024 Penn State White Out game.

According to a CFP news release, the playoff has produced some of the highest-rated dates in ESPN history. The first playoff semifinals during the 2014-15 season drew an average of 11.6 million viewers on New Year's Day.

Penn State begins pursuit of its first playoff appearance Aug. 31 at West Virginia. The game is scheduled for a noon ET kickoff on the FOX Big Noon broadcast.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.

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