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CFP moves Rose Bowl kickoff time, putting iconic mid-game sunset in jeopardy
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The College Football Playoff announced new kickoff times for all 2025-26 CFP games on Tuesday afternoon.
The announcement included a subtle-but-important shift regarding the Rose Bowl. The Granddaddy of Them All will now kickoff at 1 p.m. local time in California as opposed to the traditional 2 p.m. kickoff.
That, of course, will impact when the iconic Rose Bowl sunset happens during the game. Historically, with a 2 p.m. kickoff, the sunset would occur toward the end of the 3rd quarter. Now, with a 1 p.m. local kickoff, the sunset likely won’t happen until the very end of the game.
This change is happening to accommodate the other quarterfinal CFP games that are scheduled for New Year’s Day. The Rose Bowl will host the second of three quarterfinal games on Jan. 1, 2026. The Orange Bowl (12 p.m. ET) and Sugar Bowl (8 p.m. ET) are also set for New Year’s Day.
All 3 of those bowl games shifted their start times slightly from last season.
“This New Year’s Day schedule adjustment is the result of a thoughtful collaboration between the CFP, ESPN, the Capital One Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential, and the Allstate Sugar Bowl,” CFP executive director Rich Clark said in a statement. “All three bowls shifting their start times allows us to place each game in an ideal window on New Year’s Day and provide the optimal viewing experience. New Year’s Day and college football are synonymous with each other, and these changes only strengthen that relationship.”
Tournament of Roses CEO David Eads echoed those thoughts in a separate statement acknowledging the kickoff change.
“The Pasadena Tournament of Roses is confident that the one-hour time shift to the traditional kickoff time of the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential will help to improve the overall timing for all playoff games on January 1,” Eads said. “A mid-afternoon game has always been important to the tradition of The Granddaddy of Them All, but this small timing adjustment will not impact the Rose Bowl Game experience for our participants or attendees. Over the past five years the Rose Bowl Game has run long on several occasions, resulting in a delayed start for the following bowl game and ultimately it was important for us to be good partners with ESPN and the College Football Playoff and remain flexible for the betterment of college football and its postseason.”
While this format may be better for television audiences, there will certainly be some who will miss seeing the legendary Rose Bowl sunset as the game reaches the second half. Here’s some of the reaction from social media to this news about the Rose Bowl:
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
