A first-of-its-kind College Football Playoff that started with 12 teams, among other new additions, has just two teams standing.
Inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, No. 7 Notre Dame (14-1) and No. 8 Ohio State (13-2) will compete to be in the last team standing come with confetti falling on them by the end of Monday night in the 2025 College Football Playoff championship game.
The highly-anticipated national championship game, which features two at-large teams from the 12-team CFP bracket, marks the third consecutive year that these two midwest college football powerhouses will compete against each other.
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Here’s what you need to know on where the College Football Playoff championship game is at, including time start and TV channel information and future site locations:
Where is the 2025 College Football Playoff championship game at?
- Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
The 2025 College Football Playoff championship game is taking place in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the home of the Atlanta Falcons and SEC championship game.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which opened in 2017, has a a capacity of 71,000 per multiple reports. It was announced back in 2022 by the CFP committee that Mercedes-Benz Stadium would host the 2025 national championship game.
“We are excited to return the College Football Playoff National Championship to Atlanta,” then-executive director of the College Football Playoff Bill Hancock said in 2022.
“Bringing the game back to Atlanta was a simple decision when we looked at everything. One of our greatest title games took place in Atlanta in 2018, and the city could not have been a better host. A state-of-the-art stadium, a walkable downtown with venues to host all the activities surrounding national championship weekend and great people made Atlanta an obvious choice to be the first city to host a second title game.”
Has Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosted the CFP championship game before?
Yes, Mercedes-Benz Stadium last hosted the CFP championship game in 2018 — making the stadium the first NFL stadium to host two or more CFP championship games per ESPN.
That 2018 CFP championship game, of course, is one of the all-time CFP championship games and one that featured Alabama and Georgia. The fourth-seeded Crimson Tide pulled off the victory in overtime on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to DeVonta Smith on second-and-26 — the final national championship title for Nick Saban.
Who is competing in the 2025 CFP championship game?
- CFP championship matchup, teams: No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 8 Ohio State
No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 8 Ohio State will face each other in the 2025 College Football Playoff championship game on Monday, Jan. 20.
To reach the national championship game, Notre Dame completed a come-from-behind victory against No. 6 Penn State in the Orange Bowl on a 41-yard field goal from kicker Mitch Jeter. As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes took down No. 5 Texas 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl. Star defensive lineman Jack Sawyer sealed the win for his hometown program with a 83-yard scoop-and-score touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
It is the first trip back to the national championship for Ohio State since 2021, and the Buckeyes third CFP championship game appearance all-time. Meanwhile, it is the first time back for Notre Dame since the 2013 BCS national championship game, where it fell 42-17 to Alabama.
CFP championship start time
- Date: Monday, Jan. 20
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
The 2025 College Football Playoff championship game will take place on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Future College Football Playoff championship game sites
The College Football Playoff announced in 2022 that Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the Miami Dolphins, will host the 2026 CFP championship game.
It will be the second time that the CFP championship game will take place at Hard Rock Stadium, the traditional site of the New Year’s Six Orange Bowl. The College Football Playoff has not announced site locations for the national championship game past 2026.
“We are delighted to be returning to Miami,” Hancock said in 2022. “South Florida was a great host for the 2021 national championship game despite the event having to be scaled back because of COVID-19, and we look forward to returning in 2026 with a full complement of events and activities during national championship weekend.
“The first-class stadium, convention center, hotels and supportive people in South Florida made the decision to return quite easy. The CFP National Championship has become one of the most popular sporting events in the United States in a short period of time, and we look forward to a terrific celebration in Miami in 2026.”
Here’s a look at where the CFP championship game will take place in the future:
- 2026: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Fla.)
