MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Orange Bowl will be played on a Thursday night in 2025 and on New Year's Day in 2026 under the new 12-team College Football Playoff format.
Game dates and bowl assignments for the expanded College Football Playoff were announced Tuesday.
Under the new format, the Orange Bowl will serve as a semifinal site for the 2024 season and host a quarterfinal game for the 2025 season.
As previously announced, Hard Rock Stadium will still host the national championship game in 2026. The game will now be played Jan. 19.
The new format will also include Friday evening games played on campus in the first round.
Here is the schedule for the first two seasons of the expanded playoff:
2024-25
First Round (Campus Sites)
Friday, Dec. 20, 2024: one game (evening)
Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024: three games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024: Fiesta Bowl (evening)
Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025: Peach Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl (late afternoon) and Sugar Bowl (evening)
Semifinals
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025: Orange Bowl (evening)
Friday, Jan. 10, 2025: Cotton Bowl (evening)
National Championship
Monday, Jan. 20, 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
2025-26
First Round (Campus Sites)
Friday, Dec. 19, 2025: one game (evening)
Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025: three games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025: Cotton Bowl (evening)
Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026: Orange Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl (late afternoon) and Sugar Bowl (evening)
Semifinals
Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026: Fiesta Bowl (evening)
Friday, Jan. 9, 2026: Peach Bowl (evening)
National Championship
Monday, Jan. 19, 2026: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens
Kickoff times for each game will be announced later.
"We are pleased to be able to announce these game dates today," Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff, said. "We appreciate the efforts of all the parties involved in finalizing this schedule. This is the next significant step in bringing clarity to the launch of the 12-team playoff format in 2024. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but this is an important milestone along the way."
Under the expanded playoff, the six highest-ranked conference champions will receive automatic berths, plus the six highest-rated teams not included among the highest-ranked conference champions. The top four highest-ranked conference champions will each receive a first-round bye.
The first-round games will be hosted by the higher-seeded team or at another site designated by the higher-seeded team.
