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College Football Playoff bracket: Full schedule, how to watch for every CFP bowl game

mark giannotto, usa today

The first 12-team College Football Playoff field is finally set, and not without some controversy. But the games that will decide the national championship are nonetheless almost here and, as the debate over what teams should or should not be included in this expanded postseason fades, the excitement over what's approaching builds.

On Friday and Saturday this week, there will be four games hosted by Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas and Ohio State in some of college football's iconic venues (Notre Dame Stadium, Beaver Stadium, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and Ohio Stadium) for the first first-round games in CFP history. Then comes four more games for the quarterfinals a couple weeks later. It is, compared with previous years, almost quadruple the number of playoff games as the past decade when there was just a four-team playoff.

So buckle up – there's plenty of intrigue about how this new 12-team playoff format will affect the national championship race. Here's a look at the College Football Playoff bracket to get you ready for all the games, including a full schedule of bowl games and how to watch the action:

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CFP bracket: First round schedule

The first round of the College Football Playoff will begin with one game on Friday, December 20 and conclude with three games scheduled for December 21.

All times Eastern

FRIDAY, DEC. 20

SATURDAY, DEC. 21

CFP quarterfinals schedule

The four quarterfinal games will be played on New Year's weekend, with one game on Dec. 31 and three on Jan. 1. All games will be televised by ESPN.

All times Eastern

TUESDAY, DEC. 31

  • Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 Boise State vs. Penn State/SMU winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 1

  • Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Georgia vs. Notre Dame/Indiana winner, 8:45 p.m. (ESPN)

  • Peach Bowl: No. 4 Arizona State vs. Texas/Clemson winner, 1 p.m. (ESPN)

  • Rose Bowl: No. 1 Oregon vs. Ohio State/Tennessee winner, 5 p.m. (ESPN)

CFP semifinals schedule

The semifinal games will be played on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10. Both games will be televised by ESPN.

All times Eastern

THURSDAY, JAN. 9

  • Orange Bowl: Fiesta Bowl winner vs. Sugar Bowl winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

FRIDAY, JAN. 10

  • Cotton Bowl: Peach Bowl winner vs. Rose Bowl winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

CFP national championship game schedule

MONDAY, JAN. 20

  • Game: Orange Bowl winner vs. Cotton Bowl winner

  • Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta

  • Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

  • TV: ESPN

Catch CFP games with Fubo

Bowl Game schedule

There are 46 games on the college football postseason schedule this season, with the expansion of the College Football Playoff adding to the intrigue to the bowl season. The Salute to Veterans Bowl between South Alabama and Western Michigan kicked off the action on Dec. 14 and it all comes to a conclusion 37 days later at the CFP national championship game. USA Today has you covered with a complete schedule for every bowl game coming up on the calendar.

USA TODAY complete college football bowl schedule

How does College Football Playoff format work?

The 12 participating teams in the College Football Playoff bracket are the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, and the next seven highest-ranked teams.

The four highest-ranked conference champions are seeded one through four and received a first-round bye. The fifth conference champion is seeded where it was ranked among the top 12 teams, or at No. 12 if it is outside the top 12 in the CFP rankings. Non-conference champions ranked in the top four will be seeded beginning at No. 5.

"Because of this," the CFP warns on its website, "the seeding, 1 through 12, could look different than the final rankings."

For the first round, the higher-ranked team in each pairing (5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9) will serve as host on campus. The winners advance to the quarterfinals and match up with the corresponding top-four conference champion based on seeding. Quarterfinal games will played at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The semifinals – played at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl Classic – will take place Jan. 9-10.

The two semifinal winners will play for the national championship Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CFP bracket: Full schedule, rankings, how to watch for every bowl game