In college football, bowl season is truly the most wonderful time of the year.
Over the course of six weeks, 35 bowl games and 11 College Football Playoff games will be held (one game, the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl, is still being scheduled). The Cricket Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta kicks off bowl season Saturday, Dec. 12.
A new bowl game is being welcomed to the schedule: The Puerto Rico Bowl will be held Tuesday, Dec. 22, at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. We'll also see a Christmas Eve doubleheader with the Isleta New Mexico Bowl and the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, plus ABC will showcase bowl season tripleheaders Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.
The CFP begins with four first-round games played at campus sites Dec. 18-19. The quarterfinals will be played Dec. 30-Jan. 1, with the semifinals following two weeks later Jan. 14-15. The playoff will come to an end with the national championship game on Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Here's the schedule for 2026-27 playoff and bowl games.
All times Eastern
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College Football Playoff | Bowl games
College Football Playoff
First-round games (at campus sites)
Friday, Dec. 18
Game 1
8 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday, Dec. 19
Game 2
Noon on ABC
Game 3
3:30 p.m. on TNT
Game 4
7:30 p.m. on TNT
CFP quarterfinals
Wednesday, Dec. 30
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)
7:30 p.m. on TNT
Friday, Jan. 1
Quarterfinals Game 2
Noon on TNT
Quarterfinals Game 3
4 p.m. on ABC
Quarterfinals Game 4
8 p.m. on ESPN
CFP semifinals, national championship game
Thursday, Jan. 14
Capital One Orange Bowl
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida)
7:30 p.m. on TNT
Friday, Jan. 15
Allstate Sugar Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
7:30 p.m. on ABC
2027 CFP National Championship
Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
7:30 p.m. on ABC
Bowl season schedule
Saturday, Dec. 12
Cricket Celebration Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Noon on ABC
Tuesday, Dec. 15
IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl
Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama)
5:30 p.m. on ESPN
Frisco Football Classic
The Star (Frisco, Texas)
9 p.m. on ESPN
Friday, Dec. 18
Boca Raton Bowl
Flagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida)
11 a.m. on ESPN
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
2:30 p.m. on ESPN
Monday, Dec. 21
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina)
11 a.m. on ESPN
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho)
2:30 p.m. on ESPN
Tuesday, Dec. 22
Puerto Rico Bowl
Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium (Bayamón, Puerto Rico)
1:30 p.m. on ESPN
StaffDNA Cure Bowl
Acrisure Bounce House (Orlando, Florida)
5 p.m. on ESPN
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)
8:30 p.m. on ESPN
Wednesday, Dec. 23
New Orleans Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
2 p.m. on ESPN
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas)
5:30 p.m. on ESPN
Frisco Bowl
The Star (Frisco, Texas)
9 p.m. on ESPN
Thursday, Dec. 24
Isleta New Mexico Bowl
University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
2:30 p.m. on ESPN
Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)
7 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday, Dec. 26
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Yankee Stadium (New York)
Noon on ABC
Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Fenway Park (Boston)
2 p.m. on ESPN
Duke's Mayo Bowl
Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)
3:30 p.m. on ABC
68 Ventures Bowl
Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama)
5:30 p.m. on ESPN
Cactus Bowl
Mountain America Stadium (Tempe, Arizona)
7:30 p.m. on ABC
Sunday, Dec. 27
The Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona)
4:30 p.m. on The CW
Monday, Dec. 28
Freedom Mortgage Military Bowl
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, Maryland)
2 p.m. on ESPN
Tuesday, Dec. 29
JLab Birmingham Bowl
Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Alabama)
2 p.m. on ESPN
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
5:30 p.m. on ESPN
Valero Alamo Bowl
Alamodome (San Antonio)
9p.m. on ESPN
Wednesday, Dec. 30
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida)
11:30 a.m. on ESPN
Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl
Nissan Stadium (Nashville)
3 p.m. on ESPN
Thursday, Dec. 31
ReliaQuest Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
Noon on ESPN
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas)
2 p.m. on CBS
Las Vegas Bowl
Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
3:45 p.m. on ESPN
Kinder's Texas Bowl
Reliant Stadium (Houston)
7:30 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday, Jan. 2
Citrus Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
Noon on ABC
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)
3:30 p.m. on ABC
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee)
7:30 p.m. on ABC
