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Georgia-Ole Miss closes out the college football schedule on New Year’s Day.
As tradition holds, New Year’s Day is for college football and the bowl game schedule to begin 2026 is as big as it gets. On January 1, 2026, the College Football Playoff takes center stage with three quarterfinal bowl games. There is no NFL Thursday Night Football game on TV today as the country focuses on college football.
Fans can leave the remote alone as all of the New Year’s Day games are on ESPN. There are no non-College Football Playoff bowl games on TV today.
Miami kicked off the next round of the College Football Playoff with an upset victory over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. The Canes await the winner of the Sugar Bowl as Georgia takes on Ole Miss at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Texas Tech squares off against Oregon in the Orange Bowl to kickoff today’s college football schedule on New Year’s. Fans can watch this CFP matchup at 12 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Finally, the Rose Bowl is once again in its traditional New Year’s Day late-afternoon window.
Yet, it comes with a non-traditional matchup in the form of an SEC-Big Ten clash. Indiana squares off against Alabama in the Rose Bowl at 4 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
Here’s what you need to know about the college football schedule for New Year’s Day.
College Football Schedule for New Year’s Day: There Are 3 College Football Playoff Games on TV Today
Here’s a look at the college football schedule for New Year’s Day. All times listed are in Eastern.
DATE
GAME
TIME (ET)
CHANNEL
January 1
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech
12 p.m.
ESPN
January 1
No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 1 Indiana
4 p.m.
ESPN
January 1
No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Georgia
8 p.m.
ESPN
College Football Schedule for Friday, January 2: There Are 4 CFB Bowl Games
The bowl schedule continues on Friday, January 2, with four games on TV. Here’s a look at the upcoming schedule and all times listed are in Eastern.
DATE
GAME
TIME (ET)
CHANNEL
January 2
Rice vs. Texas State
1 p.m.
ESPN
January 2
Navy vs. Cincinnati
4:30 p.m.
ESPN
January 2
Arizona vs. SMU
8 p.m.
FOX
January 2
Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State
8 p.m.
ESPN
College Football Playoff Schedule: The CFP Semifinal Games Are on January 8-9
Once the New Year’s slate concludes, fans will have to wait another week for the next round of the College Football Playoff. Here’s a look at the remaining CFP games which resume on Thursday, January 8.
DATE
GAME
TIME (ET)
TV CHANNEL
January 8
Fiesta Bowl: Miami vs. Ole Miss
7:30 p.m.
ESPN
January 9
Peach Bowl: Oregon vs. Indiana
7:30 p.m.
ESPN
January 19
National Championship
7:30 p.m.
ESPN
Miami Awaits the Winner of Georgia vs. Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl
On New Year’s Eve, Miami became the first team to punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Canes await the winner of the SEC clash between Georgia and Ole Miss. A Georgia win would setup a matchup between Miami quarterback Carson Beck and his former team.
“When you look at the College Football Playoff bracket when it came out, it’s hard not to look forward to the games,” Beck admitted to ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, per Field Level Media.
“You see the two teams that we could end up playing, and I’m super excited for this team and the opportunity to play in the semifinals, and whichever team is able to win that game (Ole Miss vs. Georgia), we’ll go on and prepare and we’ll make the most of it.
Jonathan Adams is a veteran sports contributor covering the NFL, NBA and golf for Heavy.com. His work has been prominently featured on NFL.com, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated. More about Jonathan Adams
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