We’ve still got a few days of hot takes around whether or not Notre Dame got snubbed, but once that dies down, it’ll be time to start figuring out who college football’s national champion will be at the end of the 2025-26 College Football Playoff.
ESPN has announced which announcers will be calling those games all the way to the championship.
The CFP begins on Friday, Dec. 19, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN with No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Laura Rutledge).
That’s followed by a Saturday tripleheader featuring No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M at noon on ABC & ESPN (Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath, Taylor McGregor), followed by No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss (Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George, Quint Kessenich) and No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. (Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, Kris Budden, Stormy Buonantony) on TNT, who sublicenses the games from ESPN.
ESPN will then present all four quarterfinal games and both semifinals, all of which are currently TBD for announcing crews. The 2026 CFP National Championship, which will take place on Monday, Jan. 19, at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, will be called by Fowler, Herbstreit, Rowe, and McGrath.
The full schedule and announcer lineup are below. There are some notable assignment differences from 2024. All first-round games will feature two sideline reporters instead of one. The Tessitore-Palmer team got the CFP call for the first time this year, while the Wischusen-Riddick team got a first-round game and potentially more after calling one quarterfinal last year. Unless they get the nod in the quarters, the Mark Jones-Roddy Jones and Dave Pasch-Dusty Dvoracek booths aren’t back in the CFP fold after last year (yet).
| Date | Time (ET) | Game/Commentators | Network |
| Fri, Dec 19 | 8 p.m. | CFP First Round: No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Laura Rutledge |
ABC & ESPN |
| Sat, Dec 20 | Noon | CFP First Round: No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath, Taylor McGregor |
ABC & ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. | CFP First Round: No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George, Quint Kessenich |
TNT, truTV & HBO Max | |
| 7:30 p.m. | CFP First Round: No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, Kris Budden, Stormy Buonantony |
TNT, truTV & HBO Max | |
| Wed,
Dec 31 |
7:30 p.m. | Playoff Quarterfinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Texas A&M/No. 10 Miami Commentators TBD |
ESPN |
| Thu, Jan 1 |
Noon | Playoff Quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl: No. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oregon/No. 12 James Madison Commentators TBD |
ESPN |
| 4 p.m. | Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential: No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 8 Oklahoma/No. 9 Alabama Commentators TBD |
ESPN | |
| 8 p.m. | Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Ole Miss/No. 11 Tulane Commentators TBD |
ESPN | |
| Thu,
Jan 8 |
7:30 p.m. | Playoff Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath, TBD Reporter OR Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, TBD Reporter |
ESPN |
| Fri, Jan 9 |
7:30 p.m. | Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, TBD Reporter OR Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath, TBD Reporter |
ESPN |
| Mon,
Jan 19 |
7:30 p.m. | College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Molly McGrath |
ESPN |
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.