College Football Playoff Criticized For 'Ridiculous' 2026 Games Schedule
The College Football Playoff officially released its games schedule for the 2026-27 postseason on Monday.
The 2026-27 College Football Playoff will begin on Dec. 18. Games will run through Monday, January 25. That's more than a month of College Football Playoff action.
The full 2026-27 College Football Playoff schedule can be seen below:
Friday, December 18 | 8 p.m. | CFP First Round Game | ESPN |
Saturday, December 19 | Noon | CFP First Round Game | ABC & ESPN |
3:30 p.m. | CFP First Round Game | TNT, truTV & HBO Max | |
7:30 p.m. | CFP First Round Game | TNT, truTV & HBO Max | |
Wednesday, December 30 | 7:30 p.m. | CFP Quarterfinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl | TNT, truTV & HBO Max |
Friday, January 1 | Noon | CFP Quarterfinal TBD* | TNT, truTV & HBO Max |
4 p.m. | CFP Quarterfinal TBD* | ABC & ESPN | |
8 p.m. | CFP Quarterfinal TBD* | ESPN | |
Thursday, January 14 | 7:30 p.m. | CFP Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl | TNT, truTV & HBO Max |
Friday, January 15 | 7:30 p.m. | CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl | ABC & ESPN |
Monday, January 25 | 7:30 p.m. | 2027 CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T | ABC & ESPN |
Fans, though, are taking issue with the College Football Playoff schedule. Mainly, fans do not like how much time there is between games.
College Football Playoff roasted for 'ridiculous' games schedule
The first round starts on Dec. 18 and Dec. 19. But the second round doesn't begin until more than a week later, on Dec. 30. The national title game then isn't for nearly another month.
It's too long of a break in between games.
"We don't need multiple weeks in between rounds and having the biggest games during the week. You're a big reason why the calendar is so messed up," one fan complained.
"Why don't you ask the viewer what they want to see and when they want to see it? You could have polled this every week for a month and understood what would make the people happy. No one wants to watch a CFB game on a Monday," one fan added.
"11 days between first round and first quarterfinal game (two more days for the other 3 games). Two weeks between quarterfinal and semifinal games. 10 days between semifinals and championship game. Ridiculous," another shared.
Fox Sports 1 host Colin Cowherd added: "Waaaay too much time between games."
Does the College Football Playoff need to consider an alternate schedule?
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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 11:00 AM.