College Football Playoff 2018: Dates, locations, odds for semifinals, title game

Bill Bender

College Football Playoff 2018: Dates, locations, odds for semifinals, title game image

The 2018-19 college football season will mark the fifth year of the College Football Playoff era, and a slight change in the schedule. 

This year, the College Football Playoff semifinals will be played on Dec. 29 at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl Classic. The College Football Playoff championship game will be played on Monday, Jan. 7 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. 

MORE: SN's preseason top 25 rankings

Who will challenge for the national championship? Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Ohio State lead the gang of usual suspects, but it's anyone's game.

Here's a look at the vitals for this year's College Football Playoff:

When are the College Football Playoff semifinals? 

This year's semifinals will be played on Saturday, Dec. 29. One semifinal will be at the Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Orange Bowl will be played at Hard Rock Stadium at Miami Gardens, Fla.  

When is the CFP championship game?

The College Football Playoff championship game is Monday, Jan. 7.

Where is the CFP championship game? 

The College Football Playoff championship game will be played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. 

MORE: Five CFP scenarios to make everyone mad

Who is favored to win the national championship?

Here are the 10 teams with the best odds to win the 2018-19 college football national championship, according to VegasInsider.com

Team Odds
Alabama 2/1
Clemson 6/1
Ohio State 7/1
Georgia 8/1
Michigan 14/1
Penn State 16/1
Wisconsin 20/1
Florida State 25/1
Oklahoma 25/1
Washington 25/1

Future CFP championship sites

2019: Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, Calif.) 
2020: Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans) 
2021: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami) 
2022: Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis) 
2023: Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park (Inglewood, Calif.) 
2024: NRG Stadium (Houston)

Bill Bender

Bill Bender Photo

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.