This college football postseason will be unlike any other in the sport’s history. With the first year of the expanded playoff format, the season will run through the third week of January. Along the way, there will be 11 games that decide the national champion with contests being played on campus for the first time and including the six major bowls.
Those first-round games will take place Dec. 20 and 21 and are followed by the quarterfinals on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The semifinals will be played at the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10, respectively. The national championship game will be held Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
But there’s also more than just the chase for the national championship. A full lineup of bowl games will kickoff on Dec. 14 and run concurrently with the playoff until the Bahamas Bowl on Jan. 4.
UP AND DOWNS: Winners and losers from the playoff reveal
BOWL PROJECTIONS: Forecasting the entire postseason lineup
A look at the entire 46-game postseason schedule with dates, times and television details along with all the matchups that will take you through the holiday season and beyond:
MATCHUP: South Alabama vs. Western Michigan
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 14, Montgomery, Ala., 9 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Memphis vs. West Virginia
DETAILS: Tuesday, Dec. 17, Frisco, Texas, 9 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: James Madison vs. Western Kentucky
DETAILS: Wednesday, Dec. 18, Boca Raton, Fla., 5:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: UNLV vs. California
DETAILS: Wednesday, Dec. 18, Inglewood, Calif., 9 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Georgia Southern vs. Sam Houston State
DETAILS: Thursday, Dec. 19, New Orleans, 7 p.m., ESPN2
MATCHUP: Ohio vs. Jacksonville State
DETAILS: Friday, Dec. 20, Orlando, Fla., noon, ESPN
MATCHUP: American, ACC or SEC
DETAILS: Friday, Dec. 20, Tampa, Fla., 3:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Indiana at Notre Dame
DETAILS: Friday, Dec. 20, campus site, 8 p.m., ABC/ESPN
MATCHUP: SMU at Penn State
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 21, campus site, noon, TNT
MATCHUP: Clemson at Texas
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 21, campus site, 4 p.m., TNT
MATCHUP: Tennessee at Ohio State
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 21, campus site, 8 p.m., ABC/ESPN
MATCHUP: Coastal Carolina vs. Texas-San Antonio
DETAILS: Monday, Dec. 23, Conway, S.C., 11 a.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
DETAILS: Monday, Dec. 23, Boise, Idaho, 2:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: South Florida vs. San Jose State
DETAILS: Tuesday, Dec. 24, Honolulu, 8 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Big Ten vs. MAC
DETAILS: Thursday, Dec. 26, Detroit, 2 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Rutgers vs. Kansas State
DETAILS: Thursday, Dec. 26, Phoenix, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green
DETAILS: Thursday, Dec. 26, Mobile, Ala., 9 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: ACC, SEC or American
DETAILS: Friday, Dec. 27, Birmingham, Ala., noon or 3:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: American vs. Conference USA
DETAILS: Friday, Dec. 27, Fort Worth, Texas, noon or 3:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Big 12 vs. SEC
DETAILS: Friday, Dec. 27, Memphis, Tenn., 7 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Washington State vs. Syracuse
DETAILS: Friday, Dec. 27, San Diego, 8 p.m., Fox
MATCHUP: Pac-12 vs. SEC
DETAILS: Friday, Dec. 27, Las Vegas, 10:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: ACC vs. American
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 28, Boston, 11 a.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Boston College vs. Nebraska
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 28, New York, noon, ABC
MATCHUP: TCU vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 28, Albuquerque, 2:15 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Miami (Fla.) vs. Iowa State
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 28, Orlando, Fla., 3:30 p.m., ABC
MATCHUP: Miami (Ohio) vs. Colorado State
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 28, Tucson, Ariz., 4:30 p.m., CW
MATCHUP: North Carolina State vs. East Carolina
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 28, Annapolis, Md., 5:45 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Brigham Young vs. Colorado
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 28, San Antonio, 7:30 p.m., ABC
MATCHUP: American vs. Pac-12
DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 28, Shreveport, La., 9:15 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Big Ten vs. SEC
DETAILS: Monday, Dec. 30, Nashville, Tenn., 2:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Big Ten vs. SEC
DETAILS: Tuesday, Dec. 31, Tampa, Fla., noon, ESPN
MATCHUP: ACC vs. Pac-12
DETAILS: Tuesday, Dec. 31, El Paso, Texas, 2 p.m., CBS
MATCHUP: Illinois vs. South Carolina
DETAILS: Tuesday, Dec. 31, Orlando, Fla., 3 p.m., ABC
MATCHUP: Big 12 vs. SEC
DETAILS: Tuesday, Dec. 31, Houston, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Boise State vs. Penn State-SMU winner
DETAILS: Tuesday, Dec. 31, Glendale, Ariz., 7:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Arizona State vs. Texas-Clemson winner
DETAILS: Wednesday, Jan. 1, Atlanta, 1 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Oregon vs. Ohio State-Tennessee winner
DETAILS: Wednesday, Jan. 1, Pasadena, Calif., 5 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Georgia vs. Notre Dame-Indiana winner
DETAILS: Wednesday, Jan. 1, New Orleans, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: ACC vs. SEC
DETAILS: Thursday, Jan. 2, Jacksonville, Fla., 7:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: American, ACC or Big 12
DETAILS: Friday, Jan. 3, Dallas, 4 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Virginia Tech vs. Minnesota
DETAILS: Friday, Jan. 3, Charlotte, N.C., 7:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: Liberty vs. Buffalo
DETAILS: Saturday, Jan. 4, Nassau, Bahamas, 11 a.m., ESPN2
MATCHUP: College Football Playoff semifinal
DETAILS: Thursday, Jan. 9, Miami Gardens, Fla., 7:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: College Football Playoff semifinal
DETAILS: Friday, Jan. 10, Arlington, Texas, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
MATCHUP: CFP semifinal winners
DETAILS: Monday, Jan. 20, Atlanta, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
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(This story has been updated to change a video and add a gallery.)
