When and where is the CFP National Championship Game in 2025? Date, time and location

It's so close that college football fans can almost taste it, but the College Football Playoff National Championship Game is almost here. The first year of the 12-team CFP has not been what many expected, particularly with the only undefeated team in the country entering the Playoff, the Oregon Ducks, exiting without a single win.

Having said that, much like in March Madness for basketball, it's impossible not to get swept up in the drama and the excitement of the 12-team CFB Playoff. While one could argue whether or not the volatility of a larger field in college football really identifies the best team for the entire season, it does indeed provide us with a deserving champion, even if it largely means getting hot at the right time.

But the CFP National Championship Game was the endgame for all 12 teams coming into the Playoff. Fans of the remaining teams, however, can't help but wonder when and where their team will be playing next, so let's take a look at everything you need to know about the natty.

When is the college football National Championship Game?

The College Football Playoff National Championship Game will be played on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. The game is set for kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET and the main broadcast will be presented on ESPN, though the likes of ESPN2, ABC, ESPNU and many other networks in the family under the mothership will have alternative broadcasts as well.

With the expansion of the CFP to 12 teams for this season, the National Championship Game is much later than it has been in previous years, more than a week so. We have normally seen the title game played on the second Monday of January. The second week, however, was the date of the two semifinal matchups in the Playoff, thus giving the teams still alive 11 and 10 days, respectively, to recover before playing for a championship.

Where is the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in 2025?

The CFP National Championship Game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA on Jan. 20. While it might feel like this is the dozenth time that we've seen the title game in the Playoff era played in Atlanta, this is actually only the second time the National Championship Game itself has been played inside the home of the Falcons. The first time was back in the 2017-18 CFP when the Alabama Crimson Tide behind the heroics of freshman Tua Tagovailoa beat the Georgia Bulldogs, 26-23, in overtime.

Following the game in Atlanta this season, the CFP National Championship Game will then head to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL in the 2025-26 Playoff and then Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, NV for the 2026-27 natty.

Which teams will play in the CFP National Championship Game?

Only one team has punched their ticket to Atlanta for the National Championship Game to this point, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. On Thursday night, Marcus Freeman's team pulled off a thrilling comeback punctuated by a last-minute field goal to get the win over the Penn State Nittany Lions. Despite having no path to a bye and losing to Northern Illinois early in the season, Notre Dame is now one win away from a national title.

But who will they face?

In the other semifinal matchup for the Cotton Bowl, it's the Ohio State Buckeyes taking on the Texas Longhorns. The winner of that game, which is slated to be played on Friday night in Arlington, will move on to face the Irish for the title. No matter who advances, any college football fan can get excited for either matchup as it's blue-bloods only at this point with the programs that remain alive in the Playoff.

In the first year of the 12-team format, many fans were shocked to see that none of the top-four seeds that received a bye made it past the quarterfinals, losing in their first games of the CFP. And the calamity seems to only be further continuing the deeper we get into the bracket.