Well, it’s been only a billion years in the making, but college football will finally have a real playoff system this year. And now we have a schedule – and some locations – to go along with it.
The NCAA announced that the first round will be on December 20-21, the quarterfinals will follow on December 31 and January 1, the semifinals on January 9 and 10, and the championship game will be on Monday, January 20, 2025.
More importantly for us we have locations to go with at least some of those dates.
QUARTERFINALS
Tuesday, December 31, 5:30pm MT: Fiesta Bowl, State Farm Stadium, Phoenix
Wednesday, January 1, 1:00pm ET: Peach Bowl, Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Wednesday, January 1, 2:00pm PT: Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena
Wednesday, January 1, 7:45pm CT: Sugar Bowl, Caesars Superdome, New Orleans
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, January 9, 7:30pm ET: Orange Bowl, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Friday, January 10, 6:30pm CT: Cotton Bowl, AT&T Stadium, Dallas
FINALS
Monday, January 20, 7:30pm ET: Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Unless you’re agnostic as to the participants, it’s a bit early to be booking hotels. And yet, if you’re the hopeful type who thinks his team is going to make it this year, then grabbing a refundable hotel reservation might not be a bad idea.
