College Football Playoff 2026-27: the format, the bids and the dates

This is the third season of the 12-team College Football Playoff, and the second set of rules for who gets in. The playoff ends on January 25, 2027, with the national championship game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Here is how the field is picked, how the bracket works, and what to watch for.

The dates and rules below come from Wikipedia's articles on the playoff and the 2026 season, which cite the playoff's official materials. We did not read the playoff's own site, so treat any date as subject to change by the organizers.

Who gets in

Twelve teams qualify. A selection committee ranks the top 25 teams each week for the last six weeks of the regular season, and the final ranking sets the field.

1. Four power-conference champions. The winners of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC are each guaranteed a place. Under the previous rule, the top five champions in the rankings got guaranteed bids, so a power champion with a low ranking could be left out.
2. One Group of Six team. The highest-ranked team from the Group of Six conferences gets the fifth guaranteed spot. It does not have to have won its conference.
3. Notre Dame, if it earns it. New this year, if Notre Dame is ranked in the top 12 it is guaranteed an at-large bid.
4. Seven at-large teams. The seven highest-ranked remaining teams fill the rest of the field.

Byes and seeding

The four highest-ranked teams in the final ranking get a first-round bye. Since 2025, this is based on ranking alone, not on whether a team won its conference. In 2024, the byes went to the four highest-ranked champions, so a very good team that lost its conference title game could not get one.

Teams ranked 5 through 12 play in the first round. The bracket is not reseeded at any time: once the field is set, the matchups follow the bracket.

The rounds and dates

First round. Four games: 5 vs 12, 6 vs 11, 7 vs 10, 8 vs 9. The better seed hosts, either at its home stadium or at another venue it picks.

Quarterfinals. The four teams with byes each play a first-round winner at a New Year's Six bowl. The Rose Bowl is always a quarterfinal and is always played on New Year's Day (January 1, 2027, in Pasadena). The top three seeds choose their bowl in seed order.

Semifinals. They are played in the two bowls that are not hosting quarterfinals, at least a week later. This year, those are the Orange Bowl and the Sugar Bowl.

Championship. A neutral site chosen by the playoff's leaders. Cities cannot host a semifinal and the title game in the same year, and the host stadium must hold at least 65,000.

Where to watch

ESPN holds the playoff's rights under a six-year extension and decides which games air on ESPN and which on ABC. Two things changed for 2026-27:

• TNT Sports has a sublicense for part of the playoff. Each year it shows two first-round games, two quarterfinals and one semifinal. The first-round part of the deal started earlier.
• ABC will simulcast the national championship for the first time. It is the first time the title game is on broadcast television since 2010.

Streaming follows the channel: ESPN games stream on the ESPN app (Unlimited tier). For TNT games, check TNT Sports' streaming options near game day.

Dates still to come

• The field. After the conference championship games (Big 12 on December 4, ACC on December 5, others to be confirmed) and the end of the regular season on December 12, the committee announces the 12 teams and seeds. We do not have the exact date.
• Which games are on TNT, ABC or ESPN. The playoff has not been fully mapped in our sources; the network for each game is announced after the field is set.
• Kickoff times for the first round beyond the two days.

Note. The college football hub tracks the dates and the networks as they are announced: College football hub.