The inaugural College Football Playoff has been announced, and the bracket is out. Top-seed Alabama will play fourth-seed Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, while second-seed Oregon will play Florida State in the Rose Bowl. The committee will also announce the pairings for the New Year’s Six bowls, matching up a the Group of Five champion along with the rest of the best at-large teams that missed out on the Playoff. Those matchups will be available later.
College Football Playoff schedule, 4-team bracket and game locations
See who’s going where in the first-ever College Football Playoff.
The committee placed the teams in the Rose or Sugar Bowl based off of location, with preference given to the higher seed. The winners of each semifinal advance to Arlington, Texas 11 days later, and that’s the entire bracket. Fans of TCU and Baylor, the two contenders left out of the mix, surely wish the Playoff had already expanded beyond four teams, but we’ll likely have to wait a few years for that.
College Football Playoff
The matchup basics for the Playoff are here:
| Bowl | Matchup | Date | Time (ET) | Location | TV |
| Sugar | No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State | Jan. 1 | 8:30 p.m. | New Orleans | ESPN |
| Rose | No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida State | Jan. 1 | 5 p.m. | Pasadena, Calif. | ESPN |
| Championship | TBD vs. TBD | Jan. 12 | 8:30 p.m. | Arlington, Texas | ESPN |
And here are the New Year’s Six bowls, which will be announced at 2:45 p.m. ET.
| Bowl | Matchup | Date | Time (ET) | Location | TV |
| Peach | At-large vs. At-large | Dec. 31 | 12:30 p.m. | Atlanta | ESPN |
| Fiesta | At-large vs. At-large | Dec. 31 | 4 p.m. | Gendale, Ariz. | ESPN |
| Orange | Top non-Playoff ACC vs. Top Big Ten/SEC non-Playoff/champ | Dec. 31 | 8 p.m. | Miami Gardens, Fla. | ESPN |
| Cotton | At-large vs. At-large | Jan. 1 | 12:30 p.m. | Arlington, Texas | ESPN |
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