CFB Bowl Games Announced for 2025-26 Season, Full Dates, Times, Locations, TV Schedule

As exciting as the regular season is in college football, there's nothing like bowl season.

The official schedule for this year's bowl games was revealed Thursday, including games that will be featured in the College Football Playoff.

The Cotton Bowl, which will host a CFP quarterfinal game, will be held on Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl, all of which will play host to CFP quarterfinal games, will take place Jan. 1.

The Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl, hosts of the College Football Playoff semifinals, will fall on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, respectively. The season will conclude with the national championship game on Jan. 19.

One of the most notable takeaways from the bowl schedule is the Rose Bowl moving up one hour from its typical start time of 5 p.m. ET. The game is generally played at 5 p.m. to time the picturesque sunset with the break between the third and fourth quarter.

While it might not be the same this year, the Rose Bowl is still one of the best venues in college sports and almost always delivers a great backdrop, barring any unfortunate weather.

The earlier start time also allows the Cotton Bowl to kick off a bit earlier, something East Coast fans will appreciate.

The bowl games featured in the College Football Playoff are the headliners, but there are plenty of fun bowl games to be played outside of the CFP. A recent fan favorite includes the Pop-Tarts Bowl, which features Pop-Tarts mascots and a trophy that has a toaster in it.

While the bowl games outside of the CFP aren't quite as high-stakes, they're almost always entertaining, and that should remain true this year.

Of course, the most exciting part about bowl games are the matchups themselves, and there's a long season ahead to determine who will play in this year's bowl games.