How To Watch College Football Without Cable

College football TV rights are distributed based on the conference a college is in. College football games will air on any of the following channels: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, FS1, FS2, FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC, CBS Sports Network, BTN (Big Ten Network), Pac-12 Network, ACC Network, Next Level Sports, Longhorn Network, Stadium, ESPN+, and SEC Network. This article will help you find the best streaming service to watch college football in 2021, and I’ll update this article weekly with where you can watch the big games every week. Before we dive into the whole article, I want to save you some time and summarize some Key options.

Best Option For Watching College Football – FuboTV carries just about every channel you need to watch college football on TV every week. The only channel missing is The Longhorn Network. FuboTV also offers a 1-week free trial.

Good Value: Check out ESPN+. They are airing over 500 college football games this season. Most of which aren’t available to watch on TV. I’ll update the schedule weekly in the ESPN+ section below.

Longhorn Fans: If you Want the Longhorn Network, then your most affordable option is Sling TV. Longhorn Network is available if you subscribe to the Sling Orange Plan for $35 with the Sports Extra package for an additional $11 per month. However, you can currently sign up for $10 for your first month. However, Sling lacks ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC. If you need those broadcast channels along with LHN, your only option is DIRECTV Stream’s Choice Plan starting for $84.99 per month.

Best Way to Watch College Football Online

Below are various streaming services that provide the channels you need to watch college football throughout the 2021 season.

fuboTV

FuboTV – FuboTV offers nearly every channel you need for NCAA college football.  FuboTV also offers a 1-week free trial. After the free trial, the fuboTV starter package costs $$$ per month and includes the following channels for watching college football:

• ABC
• CBS
• NBC
• FOX
• NBC Sports Network
• CBS Sports Network
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPN3 (Through the ESPN app)
• FS1
• FS2
• BTN (Big Ten Network)

If you add the “Sports Plus” channel pack for an additional $10.99 per month, you will also receive the following channels:

• ESPNU
• SEC Network
• ACC Network
• PAC-12 Network (Includes regional Pac-12 Networks)
• Stadium

To watch games on Next Level Sports, you will need to add the fuboTV International Sports add-on for an additional $6.99 per month.

The FuboTV app is available on major platforms, including AppleTV, AndroidTV, Roku, and Amazon FireTV. We also have a full review of FuboTV for more details on their service. To see all the channels you can receive through FuboTV in your area, check out this link.

ESPN+

If you are interested in watching games in smaller conferences, you should check out ESPN+. This is ESPN’s premium service, and each week ESPN+ will have exclusive coverage of hundreds of college football games. Throughout the 2021 college football season, ESPN+ will stream over 500 games including the following:

• SEC: ~14 games, one from each school
• Big 12: ~13-17 games
• Group of 5: 127 games (24 ACC Games, 35 CUSA games, 28 MAC games, 34 Sun Belt games, 6 Independent games)
• FCS: 350+ games from 10 conferences, exclusive coverage excluding select games

ESPN+ is also available to subscribers who want to bundle ESPN+ with Disney+ and Hulu’s streaming library. All three services together are just $13.99 per month.

Check out our review of ESPN+ for more details.

Games on ESPN+ This Week

Here are the games on ESPN+ this week

Hulu Live TV

Hulu TV is Hulu Live TV. Hulu Live TV provides access to most of the cable channels you need for college football and offers local broadcast channels in most TV markets. Here are all the channels carrying college football you get with Hulu Live TV:

• ABC
• FOX
• CBS
• NBC
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPN3 (Through the ESPN app)
• ESPNU
• ACC Network
• FS1
• FS2
• SEC Network
• BTN
• and CBS Sports

Hulu + Live TV is supported on Roku, Fire TV Devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, iOS, Android, and more. Check out our review of Hulu Live TV to see if they are right for you, or check out their 1-week free trial. The only college networks missing from their lineup are the Pac-12 Network, Longhorn Network, and Eleven Sports. 

Sling TV

Sling TV – Sling TV is the service to grab if you must have Pac-12. However, you will be missing BTN and CBS Sports Network. To get the most college football on Sling TV, pick up both the Orange and the Blue package with the “Sports Extra” add-on for $65 per month. Sling provides access to:

• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPN3
• ESPNU
• FS1
• FS2,
• Pac-12 Network
• ACC Network
• SEC Network
• BTN
• Longhorn Network
• Stadium

This will also provide NBC and Fox in specific markets, but most will need to find a way to watch games on ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. CBS Sports Network and Eleven Sports are also missing from Sling TV’s lineup. Sling TV is supported on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and more, so it’s not a problem to enjoy it on a TV, tablet, computer, or other smart devices. Before you sign up for a subscription to Sling, be sure to look at our full review of Sling TV for more details on the service.

DIRECTV Stream

DIRECTV Stream – DIRECTV Stream offers various channel plans. Below I’ll describe which channels airing college football are included with each plan.

The “Entertainment” package is the base plan for $69.99 per month and offers the following channels carrying college football:

• FOX
• NBC
• CBS
• ABC
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• FS1

If you upgrade to the “Choice” Plan for $84.99 per month, you add the following relevant college football channels:

• BTN
• ESPNU
• SEC Network
• ACC Network
• Longhorn Network

If you upgrade to the “Ultimate” Plan for $94.99 per month, you add the following relevant college football channels:

• CBS Sports Network
• FS2

DIRECTV Stream is supported on AppleTV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon FireTV, and more. You can check out everything this service offers by signing up. They provide a full refund if you cancel within 14 days of signing up. You can also read more about this streaming service in our DIRECTV Stream review.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV – YouTube TV offers local broadcast channels in many areas of the country. Here are the channels they provide:

• ABC
• CBS
• NBC
• FOX
• BTN
• ACC Network
• CBS Sports Network
• NBC Sports Network
• SEC Network
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPNU
• FS1
• FS2

You can add Next Level Sports and Fox College Sports by adding the Sports Plus add-on for an additional $11 per month. This will provide you with plenty of NCAA action for just $64.99 per month. Youtube TV supports Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. The YouTube TV app isn’t available on Roku. However, users can use YouTube TV through the YouTube app on Roku devices. Check out our review of YouTube TV for more details.

College Football Games Not On TV

Here are some options for games you won’t find on TV or ESPN+.

BTN Plus

BTN also offers a service called BTN Plus, which lets you watch over 1400 non-televised games college football games on Roku, Fire TV, Android, and iOS devices. This way, you get plenty of content for all schools in the Big Ten Conference. You can view these games on the BTN Plus app for $14.95/month or $119.95/year. This service unlocks all non-televised games from the following schools:

• University of Michigan
• Northwestern University
• Wisconsin University
• The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Penn State University
• Ohio State University
• Michigan State University
• Purdue University
• University of Minnesota
• Indiana University
• University of Iowa
• University of Nebraska
• Rutgers University
• University of Maryland

If you just want to watch one school, you can get the “School Pass” for $9.95 / month or $79.95 for the year. Remember, this will only provide access to that school games not being televised that week.

College Sports Live

If your team doesn’t air on channels from any of the services above, give College Sports Live a try. It starts at $9.95 per month. They have deals with schools including Air Force, Baylor, Georgetown, Georgia, Minnesota, Navy, Oakland, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rice, San Diego State, UConn, Villanova, Virginia, etc. If a game isn’t being televised on a national network, there is a fairly good chance you can find the game on College Sports Live.

Watching College Football Games This Week

Below are the college games airing this week and where you can watch them, even if you don’t have cable.

(all time eastern)

Week 3

Thursday, Sept. 16

• Ohio at Louisiana | 8 p.m. | ESPN

Friday, Sept. 17

• UCF at Louisville | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
• Maryland at Illinois | 9 p.m. | FS1

Saturday, Sept. 18

• Nebraska at No. 3 Oklahoma | 12 p.m. | FOX
• New Mexico at No. 7 Texas A&M | 12 p.m. | SEC Network
• No. 8 Cincinnati at Indiana | 12 p.m. | ESPN
• No. 15 Virginia Tech at West Virginia | 12 p.m. | FS1
• No. 16 Coastal Carolina at Buffalo | 12 p.m. | ESPN2
• Michigan State at No. 24 Miami | 12 p.m. | ABC
• Northern Illinois at No. 25 Michigan | 12 p.m. | Big Ten Network
• Eastern Michigan at UMass | FloSports
• Chattanooga at Kentucky | 12 p.m. | SEC Network+/ESPN+
• Southeast Missouri State at Missouri | 12 p.m. | SEC Network+/ESPN+
• Tennessee Tech at Tennessee | 12 p.m. | | SEC Network+/ESPN+
• Western Michigan at Pitt | 12 p.m. | ESPN3
• Albany at Syracuse | 12 p.m. | ACC Network
• Boston College at Temple | 12 p.m. | ESPNU
• UConn at Army | 12 p.m. | CBSSN
• Minnesota at Colorado | 1 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
• Nevada at Kansas State | 2:05 p.m. | ESPN+
• Purdue at No. 12 Notre Dame | 2:30 p.m. | NBC
• No. 1 Alabama at No. 11 Florida | 3:30 p.m. | CBS
• Kent State at No. 5 Iowa | 3:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
• Georgia Tech at No. 6 Clemson | 3:30 p.m. | ABC
• Tulsa at No. 9 Ohio State | 3:30 p.m. | FS1
• SMU at Louisiana Tech | 3:30 p.m. | CBSSN
• Florida State at Wake Forest | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN
• Delaware at Rutgers | 3:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
• Baylor at Kansas | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
• Long Island University at Miami (Ohio) | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
• Bryant at Akron | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN3
• Elon at Appalachian State | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
• Idaho at Oregon State | 3:30 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
• USC at Washington State | 3:30 p.m. | FOX
• Georgia Southern at No. 20 Arkansas | 4 p.m. | SEC Network
• Mississippi State at Memphis | 4 p.m. | ESPN2
• Ball State at Wyoming | 4 p.m. | Stadium
• Northwestern at Duke | 4 p.m. | ACC Network
• Colorado State at Toledo | 4 p.m. | ESPNU
• Sacramento State at Cal | 4 p.m. | Stadium
• Arkansas State at Washington | 4:15 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
• Murray State at Bowling Green | 5 p.m. | ESPN3
• Middle Tennessee at UTSA | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
• Fordham at FAU | 6 p.m. | ESPN3
• Old Dominion at Liberty | 6 p.m. | ESPN3
• East Carolina at Marshall | 6 p.m. | Facebook/CBSSN
• South Carolina at No. 2 Georgia | 7 p.m. | ESPN
• Charlotte at Georgia State | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
• FIU at Texas Tech | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
• Troy at Southern Miss | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
• Grambling at Houston | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
• Florida A&M at South Florida | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
• Incarnate Word at Texas State | 7 p.m. | ESPN3
• Utah at San Diego State | 7 p.m. | CBSSN
• Stony Brook at No. 4 Oregon | 7:30 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
• No. 22 Auburn at No. 10 Penn State | 7:30 p.m. | ABC
• Virginia at No. 21 North Carolina | 7:30 p.m. | ACC Network
• Central Michigan at LSU | 7:30 p.m. | SEC Network
• Furman at NC State | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN3
• UAB at North Texas | 7:30 p.m. | Stadium
• Utah State at Air Force | 7:30 p.m. | FS2
• Tulane at No. 17 Ole Miss | 8 p.m. | ESPN2
• Stanford at Vanderbilt | 8 p.m. | ESPNU
• South Carolina State at New Mexico State | 8 p.m. | Bally Sports AZ/Flo Sports
• Rice at Texas | 8 p.m. | Longhorn Network
• Jackson State at UL Monroe | 8 p.m. | ESPN3
• Alcorn State at South Alabama | 8 p.m. | ESPN3
• Oklahoma State at Boise State | 9 p.m. | FS1
• Northern Arizona at Arizona | 10 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
• No. 19 Arizona State at No. 23 BYU | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN
• No. 14 Iowa State at UNLV | 10:30 p.m. | CBSSN
• Fresno State at No. 13 UCLA | 10:45 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
• San Jose State at Hawai’i | 12:30 a.m. Sunday | FS1

If this article didn't answer your specific question, head over to our Home Page! It will guide you to affordable internet providers, streaming services to meet your needs, information on antennas, and many more tools and resources to help you save money on TV and Internet access.

For tips and tricks on cutting the cord and other tech topics be sure to join our Facebook Page.