Watch College Football Online Without Cable

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Dennis Restauro

President at Grounded Reason LLC

Dennis is the editor in chief at Grounded Reason. Before writing about using technology to save you money he spent 20 years working in the tech sector as a sysadmin, an analyst, and an enterprise architect.

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College football kicks off the 2019 season this weekend on Saturday, August 24th. The first televised airs on ESPN  at 7 pm E.T. as the Miami Hurricanes take on the Florida Gators. If you want to watch that game and more without needing cable TV, then this is the guide for you.

The vast majority of NCAA College Football airs on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, FS1, FS2, FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC, CBS Sports Network, BTN (Big Ten Network), Pac-12 Network, ACC Network, and SEC Network. All of those networks are on various online streaming services.

In this article, we will provide a way to watch all of those major NCAA networks and some lesser-known networks airing NCAA football.

Best Way to Watch NCAA Football Online

I find the best and most affordable way to watch college football in 2019 is Hulu Live TV. Not only does Hulu Live TV provide access to most of the cable channels you need for college football, but also offer local broadcast channels in most TV markets. Here are all the channels carrying college football you get with Hulu Live TV:

• ABC (Most Markets)
• FOX (Most Markets)
• CBS (Most Markets)
• NBC (Most Markets)
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPN3 (Through the ESPN app)
• ESPNEWS
• ESPN-U
• FS1
• FS2
• SEC Network
• BTN
• Longhorn Network (through the WatchESPN app)
• and CBS Sports

Games of the top 25 teams can be watched every weekend on ABC, FOX, CBS, and NBC. Furthermore every Notre Dame home game airs on NBC. While you watch these games with a TV antenna for free, Hulu adds those channels airing college football typically found on cable TV.

Hulu Live TV also works with the WatchESPN app which provides access to the Longhorn Network if you live within their market. You’ll also be able to access hundreds of games airing through the Fox Sports Watch Anywhere app .

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 network missing from their lineup is the Pac-12.  If you are desperate for Pac-12, take a look at Sling TV described below.

Watching Smaller Conference Games

If you are interested in watching games in smaller conferences, you should check out ESPN+. The service will stream 300 college football games this year. The games primarily feature teams from the following conferences:

• Big South
• Conference USA
• Ivy League
• Mid American
• Mid Eastern
• Missouri Valley
• Northeast
• Ohio Valley
• Southern
• Southland
• Southwestern
• Sun Belt
  

ESPN+ will stream also stream five Power-5 games: one each from Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State (Big 12) as well as one Syracuse (ACC) game. The Big 12 games are the first to be featured within ESPN+ as part of Big 12 Now. An updated list of games on ESPN+ this weekend is below.

Games on ESPN+ This Weekend

• Sat, 9/21 1:00 PM Eastern Illinois at Indiana State
• Sat, 9/21 1:00 PM Eastern Kentucky at Presbyterian
• Sat, 9/21 1:00 PM Holy Cross at Yale
• Sat, 9/21 1:00 PM Dartmouth at Jacksonville
• Sat, 9/21 1:00 PM Mercer at Furman
• Sat, 9/21 1:30 PM Robert Morris at VMI
• Sat, 9/21 2:00 PM Louisiana at Ohio (Sun Belt) 
• Sat, 9/21 2:00 PM West Virginia State University at Southeast Missouri State
• Sat, 9/21 2:00 PM Troy at Akron
• Sat, 9/21 3:00 PM Kennesaw State at Missouri State
• Sat, 9/21 3:00 PM Arkansas Pine Bluff at Tennessee State
• Sat, 9/21 3:30 PM UC Davis at North Dakota State
• Sat, 9/21 4:00 PM James Madison at Chattanooga
• Sat, 9/21 4:30 PM West Virginia at Kansas (Big 12) 
• Sat, 9/21 5:00 PM Idaho State at Northern Iowa
• Sat, 9/21 5:00 PM Butler at Princeton
• Sat, 9/21 6:00 PM Hampton at Liberty
• Sat, 9/21 6:00 PM Wagner at Florida Atlantic
• Sat, 9/21 6:00 PM Davidson at Campbell
• Sat, 9/21 6:00 PM Western New England at Stetson
• Sat, 9/21 6:00 PM Charleston Southern at The Citadel
• Sat, 9/21 6:00 PM Gardner-Webb at Wofford
• Sat, 9/21 7:00 PM Georgia State at Texas State (Sun Belt) 
• Sat, 9/21 7:00 PM Southern Utah at South Dakota State
• Sat, 9/21 7:00 PM Morehead State at Murray State
• Sat, 9/21 7:00 PM North Alabama at Jacksonville State
• Sat, 9/21 7:00 PM McNeese at Abilene Christian
• Sat, 9/21 7:00 PM Nicholls at Stephen F. Austin
• Sat, 9/21 7:30 PM Northern Arizona at Illinois State
• Sat, 9/21 7:30 PM Austin Peay at East Tennessee State
• Sat, 9/21 8:00 PM Lamar at Southeastern Louisiana

Check out our review of ESPN+ for more details.

Other Ways to Watch College Football without Cable

If you don’t need all those networks or want to try a service other than Hulu, other services offer channels airing NCAA football.

College Football on Sling

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 $45 per month. Sling provides access to:

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

You can sign up for a free trial to try it out.

This will also provide NBC and Fox in specific markets. In certain markets, an additional $5 for the Broadcast-plus package will provide access to ABC. Be sure to look at our full review of Sling TV.

College Football on Fubo TV

FuboTV – FuboTV costs $54.99 per month and offers a good slate of channels for NCAA college football.  FuboTV also offers a 1-week free trial. We also have a full review of FuboTV for more details on their service. The list below shows the relevant channels on FuboTV:

• CBS Network (in select markets)
• NBC Network (in select markets)
• FOX Network (in select markets)
• NBC Sports Network
• CBS Sports Network
• Local sports networks from NBC and FOX
• FS1
• FS2
• BEINSports
• BTN (Big Ten Network)
• PAC-12 Network

College Football on AT&T TV Now

AT&T TV NOW – AT&T TV Now (Formerly DirecTV Now) offers 2 different packages that may appeal to cord-cutters looking to watch college football.

The “Plus” package is $50 per month and offers the following channels carrying NCAA football.

• FOX (select markets)
• NBC (select markets)
• CBS (select markets)
• ABC (select markets)
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• FS1

The “Max” package at $70 per month adds BTN, CBS Sports Network, ESPNews, ESPNU, FS2, and SEC Network so you will have the following:

• FOX (select markets)
• NBC (select markets)
• CBS (select markets)
• ABC (select markets)
• BTN
• CBS Sports Network
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPNews
• ESPNU
• FS1
• FS2
• SEC Network

You can check out everything this service offers by taking advantage of their 7-day free trial or read about it in our DirecTV Now review.

College Football on YouTube TV

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

• ABC (in select markets)
• CBS (in select markets)
• NBC (in select markets)
• FOX (in select markets)
• BTN
• CBS Sports Network
• NBC Sports Network
• SEC Network
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPNU
• FS1
• FS2

This will provide you with plenty of NCAA action for just $49.99 per month. Check out our review of YouTube TV for more details.

College Football on PlayStation Vue

PlayStation Vue – With their $50 per month package, you can watch ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, and FS2. You can watch ESPN3 using the WatchESPN app with PlayStation Vue login credentials. They also carry NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) along with Fox, NBC, ABC, and CBS is some markets.

PlayStation Vue offers various packages that offers an array of channels that carry college football. The $50 per month “Access” Package carries the following

• ABC Network (in select markets)
• CBS Network (in select markets)
• NBC Network (in select markets)
• FOX Network (in select markets)
• ESPN
• ESPN 2
• FS1
• FS2
• NBC Sports Network (NBCSN)

If you move up to the “Core” Package for $55 per month, you get the following channels

• ABC Network (in select markets)
• CBS Network (in select markets)
• NBC Network (in select markets)
• FOX Network (in select markets)
• ESPN
• ESPN 2
• ESPN College Extra
• ESPNews
• ESPNU
• FS1
• FS2
• BTN (Big Ten Network)
• CBS Sports Network
• NBC Sports Network
• Local FOX Sports stations (in select areas)
• Local NBC Sports stations (in select areas)
• SEC Network
• ACC Network

Other College Football Online

Longhorn Network – If you live in Big 12 territory then you can watch LHN through the WatchESPN app. You will need credentials from a Hulu Live TV,  Sling TV Orange, or DIRECTV NOW (“Just Right” package)

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 $9.99 per month and 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, and more.

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