College Football Playoff continues this week with a pair of semifinal games slated for Thursday and Friday. No. 7 Notre Dame will play No. 6 Penn State on Thursday, Jan. 9 in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami while No.

That pair, and others like it, became part of notable trend in the 2024-25 bowl season: 21 of the 30 non-Playoff bowls that aired on an ESPN network through Jan. 2 saw year-over-year viewership increases, the majority of them by 20 percent or more.

The College Football Playoff denied a request made by Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey to flip the times and dates for the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl, a committee spokesman confirmed Friday.

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit joined the On3Sports podcast with Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman on Tuesday ahead of the semifinal slate of the College Football Playoff. During the live show on YouTube, Herbstreit appeared to have leaked the plans for " College GameDay ."

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 2: Fireworks go off during the playing of the National Anthem before the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome on January 2, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by CFP/Getty Images)

Here's a complete schedule of the College Football Playoff semifinals, including kickoff times and TV channel information.