Playoff football has arrived.
The second edition of the 12-team College Football Playoff is set to kick off Friday, with a full slate of first-round games coming up this weekend.
With Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia and Texas Tech earning first-round byes, there are eight teams looking to join them in the quarterfinals. The opening slate will include traditional powerhouses like Alabama, Oregon and Miami, plus underdog stories like Tulane and James Madison.
Here are the details for the first round of the 2025-26 CFP:
When does the College Football Playoff start?
The 2025-26 CFP kicks off Friday, Dec. 19, with No. 8 Oklahoma hosting No. 9 Alabama in the first game of the first round. The opening round continues on Saturday, Dec. 20, with the remaining three games.
When are the College Football Playoff games this weekend?
Here’s the full schedule for the first round:
Friday, Dec. 19
No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma, 5 p.m. PT
Saturday, Dec. 20
No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M, 9 a.m. PT
No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss, 12:30 p.m. PT
No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon, 4:30 p.m. PT
How to watch College Football Playoff first round games on TV
Two networks will air the CFP first-round games: ABC/ESPN and TNT/truTV.
Alabama-Oklahoma: ABC/ESPN
Miami-Texas A&M: ABC/ESPN
Tulane-Ole Miss: TNT/truTV
James Madison-Oregon: TNT/truTV
How to stream College Football Playoff first round games
In addition to the TV broadcast, all four games will be available to stream on either ESPN or HBO Max.
2025-26 College Football Playoff bracket
Unlike in the NFL, college football does not reseed in the playoffs. That means each of the top four seeds know what game their quarterfinal opponent will come from.
Here’s what the next round will look like and the full bracket:
No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 8 Oklahoma/No. 9 Alabama (Rose Bowl)
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Texas A&M/No. 10 Miami (Cotton Bowl)
No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Ole Miss/No. 11 Tulane (Sugar Bowl)
No. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oregon/No. 12 James Madison (Orange Bowl)
NCAA
NCAA
2025-26 College Football Playoff bracket.