When the two winningest programs in college football meet, it's always worthy of a spotlight on the biggest stage, especially when a potential national championship is on the line.
Selection Sunday revealed that the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners will host the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide in Norman for a rematch from earlier this season in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
OU and Bama get Friday night game of College Football Playoff
The spectacle of the two giants of college football clashing in the playoff and the storylines of their newfound SEC history, including a 23-21 win in Tuscaloosa for the Sooners just last month, garnered the game the Friday night slot for the first round. OU and Bama will kick off at 7 p.m. CT Friday, Dec. 19, from Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on the grandest stage the first round has to offer while beginning the playoff and being the only game of the day. The game will be broadcast on ABC.
Every other first-round game will be the following Saturday on Dec. 20. No. 12 Miami will play at No. 7 Texas A&M at 11 a.m. CT on ABC. It will then be a double header on TNT. First between No. 11 Tulane and No. 6 Ole Miss at 2:30 p.m. CT, then No. 12 at No. 5 Oregon at 6:30 p.m. CT. ESPN got just one primetime game for the first round so called dibs on the OU-Bama rematch.
THE STAGE IS SET FOR THE 2025-26 PLAYOFF 🏈🏆#CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/GPoYiE5YmQ
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) December 7, 2025
The rest of the playoff will be broadcast on ESPN. The quarterfinals, where the Sooners would play No. 1 Indiana with a win, will be Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. OU and Indiana's potential matchup would be in the Rose Bowl at 3 p.m. CT Thursday, Jan. 1.
There will be one semifinal game a night on Jan. 8-9. The National Championship Game will be at 6:30 p.m. CT Monday, Jan. 19, at Miami Gardens, Florida.