The 2025-2026 college football season culminates with a dramatic, expanded 12-team playoff bracket, transforming the postseason into a four-round tournament. This new format introduces campus-site games in the first round before transitioning to the traditional New Year’s Six bowl games for the Quarterfinals and Semifinals, all leading to the National Championship in Miami.
Round 1: Campus Showdowns
The action begins on Friday, December 19, and Saturday, December 20, with four games hosted by the higher-seeded teams. The first-round matchups feature No. 9 Alabama traveling to face No. 8 Oklahoma, while No. 10 Miami (FL) takes on No. 7 Texas A&M in College Station. The remaining games pit No. 11 Tulane against No. 6 Ole Miss in Oxford, and No. 12 James Madison traveling to face the formidable No. 5 Oregon Ducks in Eugene. The winners of these four contests earn a trip to the Quarterfinals.
Quarterfinals: The New Year’s Six
The four highest-ranked conference champions—No. 1 Indiana, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 4 Texas Tech—all receive a first-round bye and will host their Quarterfinal matchups in the prestigious New Year’s Six bowl games on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
The Quarterfinals kick off on December 31st with the Goodyear Cotton Bowl in Arlington, TX, where No. 2 Ohio State awaits the winner of the Miami/Texas A&M game. New Year’s Day features the remaining three matchups: the Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, FL, with No. 4 Texas Tech facing the winner of James Madison/Oregon; the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, CA, where No. 1 Indiana will play the winner of the Alabama/Oklahoma contest; and the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, LA, where No. 3 Georgia will take on the winner of the Tulane/Ole Miss game.
Semifinals and National Championship
The Quarterfinal winners will move on to the Semifinals, set for Thursday, January 8, and Friday, January 9. The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ, will host the first Semifinal, pitting the Sugar Bowl winner against the Cotton Bowl winner. The second Semifinal will be played in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta, GA, featuring the Orange Bowl winner against the Rose Bowl winner.
Finally, the two victorious teams will square off for the ultimate prize in the CFP National Championship on Monday, January 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Even with the expanded 12-team field offering countless pathways to the title, our projection for the eventual champion comes not just from analytics, but from the deep-seated belief and passion that defines college football fandom: the heart wants what the heart wants, and our heart is firmly with the Georgia Bulldogs. While the head acknowledges the strength of the top seeds and the challenges of the tournament format, the Bulldog faithful see an undeniable destiny in this team. Their combination of a tenacious, championship-tested defense, a powerful running game built for January football, and the unwavering confidence instilled by Coach Kirby Smart makes them a sentimental favorite destined to break through the rigorous four-game gauntlet and claim the National Championship trophy in Miami.