College Football Playoff Championship 2021-22: Dates, TV Schedule, Live Stream

Have any plans for New Year's Eve? Kickoff times for the College Football Playoff semifinals have been set for that night, and you won't want to miss a thing. 

No. 1 Alabama will take on No. 4 Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl, and No. 2 Michigan will face off against No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl.

The undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats, who are also American Athletic Conference champions, made history as they became the first non-Power Five team to make the College Football Playoff since the new format was introduced in 2014.

Michigan punched its ticket to the semifinals after routing Iowa 42-3 in the Big Ten title game.

It was no surprise that Alabama secured yet another SEC title on Saturday, the program's sixth in the past eight years, over Georgia. But both teams still advance to the semifinals, with Alabama securing the No. 1 seed despite entering the SEC championship game as an underdog. 

Two of those teams will advance to the national championship on Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN in Indianapolis. 

Below you'll find all the information you need to tune into this year's College Football Playoff Championship.

CFP Semifinal Date, TV Schedule, Live Stream

Date: Friday, Dec. 31

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET, No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Cincinnati; 7:30 p.m., No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Georgia 

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: Watch ESPN

CFP Game Dates, TV Schedule, Live Stream

Date: Monday, Jan. 10

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Location: Indianapolis 

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: Watch ESPN

College football's conference championship weekend was a welcome respite for most fans from the twists and turns of the last week, which found the sport in the news nearly every day with a new breaking headline: Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for USC, and Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU (and suddenly developed a Southern accent):

If Notre Dame had made the playoff, it would have become the first team to play a postseason game without their regular-season head coach. But at No. 5, the Irish ended up being the first team out.

It's a relief to have some on-the-field storylines to follow heading into bowl season, and there are many of them in this year's College Football Playoff.

Cincinnati has forged a path for all Group of Five conference teams by destroying Houston in the AAC championship game to remain undefeated, while No. 5 Oklahoma State fell just shy of a Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff consideration. 

The Bearcats have certainly earned the spoils they are about to enjoy; they remain the last undefeated team in the country. 

While a Cincinnati-Michigan College Football Playoff Championship Game would certainly be a breath of fresh air from the dominance of the ACC and the SEC, it would also be delicious to see Alabama and Georgia throw down yet again, with the Dawgs aiming to avenge their SEC title-game loss. 

The bowl games will kick off Dec. 17 with the Bahamas Bowl. In 2021-22 there are a record 42 bowl games for your college football enjoyment, so prepare for an extremely chaotic and newsy second half of the month.