The College Football Playoff has arrived as Alabama and Oklahoma will faceoff on Friday Night to kickoff the chase for the National Championship. By the end of the weekend, the field of 12 teams will be down to 8 as there are 4 first round matchups. This year, there's one game on Friday Night followed by 3 games on Saturday giving fans plenty of time with no overlap to take in the action.
Given that the NFL season is coming down the stretch, their games are spaced out as well creating some confusion this weekend with NFL games on Saturday and Sunday. The College Football Playoff games will also come to a new television partner as half of the first round will be on TNT, HBO Max, and TruTV.
Full College Football Playoff Weekend schedule
#9 Alabama Crimson Tide Vs #8 Oklahoma Sooners
- Friday, December 19th, 8:00 PM ET on ABC/ESPN
The rematch between Alabama and Oklahoma will kick off the College Football Playoff as the lone game on Friday Night. Brent Venables is 2-0 against Kalen DeBoer since his arrival in Tuscaloosa including a Sooners win in Tuscaloosa during the regular season. The winner of this game is then tasked with trying to knock off the top-ranked Indiana Hoosiers and Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza.
#10 Miami Hurricanes Vs #7 Texas A&M Aggies
- Saturday, December 20th, 12:00 PM ET on ABC/ESPN
The Miami Hurricanes were able to sneak into the College Football Playoff, and now they'll have a chance to prove they belong as they'll go on the road to face Texas A&M. The Aggies are coming off their first loss of the season while the Hurricanes have been much better as of late. The winner of this game gets to face an Ohio State team that has something to prove after their loss to Indiana.
#11 Tulane Green Wave Vs #6 Ole Miss Rebels
- Saturday December 20th, 3:30 PM ET on TNT, HBO Max, and TruTV
Tulane and Ole Miss will faceoff on Saturday Afternoon in the second rematch we'll see in the first round. Earlier this season, Ole Miss blew out Tulane, but a lot has changed including the fact that Lane Kiffin won't be leading the Rebels. The winner of this game gets to face the red hot Georgia Bulldogs which could be another rematch for the Rebels.
#12 James Madison Dukes Vs #5 Oregon Ducks
- Saturday December 20th, 7:30 PM ET on TNT, HBO Max, and TruTV
The final game of the first round takes place in Eugene, Oregon as Dan Lanning's Ducks host Bob Chesney's James Madison Dukes. Oregon is expected to win in dominant fashion, but the Dukes have the pieces to give the Ducks more resistance than they'd like. The winner of this matchup has a game against a talented Texas Tech team awaiting them in the quarterfinals.