The New College Football Playoff: A 12-Team Look at the 2025-26 Season

Get ready for an expanded playoff field as the College Football Playoff (CFP) enters its second year with a 12-team bracket for the 2025-26 season. The new format brings significant changes to team selection, seeding, and the game schedule.

How Teams Are Selected

The new 12-team field will consist of the five highest-ranked conference champions, who will receive automatic bids. The remaining seven highest-ranked teams will then fill out the rest of the bracket.

How the Playoff Bracket Works

In this new format, the top four highest-ranked teams will be seeded 1-4 and receive a first-round bye. The remaining teams, seeded 5 through 12, will face off in the first round. The higher-seeded team will host the game at their home stadium. The first-round matchups are as follows:

No. 5 vs. No. 12

No. 6 vs. No. 11

No. 7 vs. No. 10

No. 8 vs. No. 9

The winners of the first-round games will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played as part of the New Year's Six bowl games. The semifinals will be held at rotating bowl game locations, and the national championship site is selected through a bid process.

2025-26 CFP Schedule

Here is the full schedule for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff:

First round: December 19-20

Quarterfinals:

Cotton Bowl: December 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Orange, Rose, and Sugar Bowls: January 1 at 12 p.m., 4 p.m., and 8 p.m. ET

Semifinals:

Fiesta Bowl: January 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Peach Bowl: January 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET

National Championship:

Miami Gardens, Florida: January 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET