The 2025-26 College Football Playoff is poised for a Thursday-night showdown as the nation’s top four teams lock horns in the Rose, Sugar, Cotton, and Orange Bowls.
Quarterfinal Matchups
The playoff’s top four seeds-No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers, No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes, No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs, and No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders-received first-round byes and were placed into the quarterfinal bowl games with no reseeding, keeping the bracket intact. Indiana, undefeated and led by Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, will face the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl. Alabama, the team that owns the most national titles in the CFP era, rallied past the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners 34-24 in the first round.
Ohio State will continue its repeat bid in the Cotton Bowl against the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes. Miami, the lowest seed to advance, scored the game’s only touchdown inside the final two minutes of regulation to defeat the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies 10-3 in its CFP debut. Ohio State’s top-ranked defense allows fewer than 10 points per game (8.2). Texas Tech will play its first-ever CFP game when it takes on the No. 5 Oregon Ducks in the Orange Bowl. The Big 12 champions boast the No. 2 scoring offense (42.5 points per game) and the No. 3 scoring defense (10.9 points per game) in the nation. Oregon, which raced out to a 34-6 halftime lead over the No. 12 James Madison Dukes en route to a 51-34 victory, was stunned last year in the CFP quarterfinals by a blowout Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State.
The Sugar Bowl will feature an SEC showdown between the conference champion Bulldogs and the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels. The Rebels, after head coach Lane Kiffin departed for LSU, rolled past the No. 11 Tulane Green Wave 41-10 in their CFP debut. In their first meeting in October, Georgia scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for a 43-35 home win.
Game Dates and Times
The quarterfinals will be played from Wednesday, December 31 to Thursday, January 1:
- Cotton Bowl – No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Miami: Wednesday, Dec 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. CT / 4:30 p.m. PT
- Orange Bowl – No. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oregon: Thursday, Jan 1 at 12 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. CT / 9 a.m. PT
- Rose Bowl – No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 9 Alabama: Thursday, Jan 1 at 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT / 1 p.m. PT
- Sugar Bowl – No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Ole Miss: Thursday, Jan 1 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT
Venue Details
- Cotton Bowl: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
- Orange Bowl: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
- Rose Bowl: Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California
- Sugar Bowl: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans
Broadcast Information
All four quarterfinal contests will air on ESPN and can also be streamed on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
Semifinal and Championship Overview
The semifinals will be played from Thursday, January 8 to Friday, January 9. The Fiesta Bowl will be held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, followed by the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The national championship game will take place on Monday, January 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET in Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida-the same venue that hosts the Orange Bowl.
Key Takeaways
- Indiana faces Alabama in the Rose Bowl, with Mendoza looking for the program’s first bowl win since 1991.
- Ohio State will battle Miami in the Cotton Bowl, while Texas Tech meets Oregon in the Orange Bowl for its debut CFP game.
- Georgia will square off against Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl, with both teams fresh from dominant first-round performances.
The 2025-26 College Football Playoff promises high-stakes matchups, historic venues, and a clear path to the national title game on January 19.
