How To Live Stream Every College Football Bowl Game This Season … For Free

As the NFL season winds down and enters a bit of a lull before the playoffs, football fans can turn to college football for the most exciting games of the year. That’s right—it’s bowl season!

Beginning Saturday, December 17th with a must-see Las Vegas Bowl matchup between Houston and San Diego State, and culminating with the CFB National Championship game on January 9th, there are a ton of must-see bowl games that are sure to have fans glued to their TV’s.

But in this age of streaming television, you’re likely wondering if there are options for streaming the bowl games. Luckily, whether you’re looking to watch with a Roku, Apple TV, computer, or mobile device, there are plenty of ways to stream college football.

If you take a look at the college bowl game schedule, you’ll see games spread across ESPN, ABC, CBS, and FOX. Below, we’ll break down your streaming options for each.

ESPN Will Stream the Most Bowl Games

A quick glance at the schedule makes one thing apparent—the majority of the college bowl games come on ESPN (including the playoffs and the championship game), making it the most important network to have access to. Luckily, ESPN has the most streaming options:

  • WatchESPN app: The WatchESPN is available on virtually every device, and allows you to stream ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3 content. The catch? You need a pay-TV login. But that’s not as bad as it might sound. If you have cable, simply use your credentials to gain access. And if you subscribe to one of the cord cutting services like Sling TV, you can use those credentials to stream as well. In fact, some ISP credentials will work for limited content as well.
  • Sling TV: Sling TV is the cheapest way to stream ESPN without cable. For $20 a month, you gain access to over 25 channels, which include live streams of ESPN and ESPN2. It’s available with a free 7-day trial, which means you can test it out and cancel if you don’t like it. After that, it’s a month-to-month streaming service with no contract. It’s available on pretty much any device, and even allows you to stream on your phone on the go. The only real catch is you can’t DVR the games to watch later.
  • PlayStation Vue: Vue is similar to Sling TV, but starts at $29.99 in most markets with more channels. The main advantage it has over Sling TV is its cloud DVR. This is ideal for people who need to watch later. On the other hand, Vue has mobile restrictions which may limit you from watching the games on the go.
  • DirecTV Now: DirecTV Now is the new streaming service on the block. It’s like Sling and Vue, except the bundles are bigger and a bit more expensive (although it’s currently available with a promo rate of $35 for 100+ channels). Its interface is more like cable. In fact. I’d say this is basically cable-light. Check out this DirecTV Now overview for all the latest details.

Stream ABC Bowl Games

ABC will be streaming four bowl games. They are as follows:

  • December 17—NC Central vs. Grambling in the Celebration Bowl
  • December 17—Houston vs San Diego State in the Las Vegas Bowl
  • December 31—LSU vs. Louisville in the Citrus Bowl
  • January 2—Florida vs. Iowa in the Outback Bowl

If you’d like to watch any of those games (I’ll be tuning in to see Houston play San Diego State), your options are pretty similar to the ESPN options, since both networks are owned by the same parent company.

For starters, WatchESPN simulcasts ABC games. That means you can use the app, assuming you have a valid login, to stream all four games from ABC.

As for Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and DirecTV Now, and ABC live stream is only available in certain markets. You can check with each individual service to see if ABC is available live in your area. But remember, you can use the credentials to log in to WatchESPN, so don’t worry too much about it.

Streaming CBS Is a Bit Different

CBS will be broadcasting two bowl games. The Sun Bowl, which features Stanford vs. North Carolina, will be on the CBS flagship network on December 30. The Cure Bowl, which features UCF vs. Arkansas State, will play on CBSSN.

For the Sun Bowl, your easiest option to live stream is CBS All Access. The CBS-owned streaming service has a live stream in over 150 markets, which covers most of the US. The service costs $5.99 per month, but is available with a free trial. So theoretically, you could sign up to watch the game, then cancel if you weren’t interested in keeping the service (although it’s a great way to live stream NFL games now).

As for live streaming the CBSSN matchup, the only way to do so is with a cable login on the CBS Sports app or website. It appears the only cable providers supported are Frontier, COS, WOW!, and Optimum.

Stream the Bowl Game on FOX

FOX will air the Fosters Farm Bowl on December 28. The easiest way to view this game is via the Fox Sports Go. This app requires either a cable login or a PlayStation Vue login.

FOX live streams are also available in select markets on Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and DirecTV Now. Again, you’ll have to check with the individual services first before signing up to see if the streams are available in your area.

There also may be another option for the FOX game with fuboTV. The service recently announced it’s beefing up its offerings to include FOX-owned stations, NBC-owned stations, and more. The entry level price will be $35 per month. However, there’s still the question of whether or not the new service will launch in time. You can find out more about the changes to the service in this fuboTV overview here.

And there you have it. All the ways to stream the college football bowl games and playoff matchups over the next month. Hope your team wins!

Chris Brantner is the co-founder of CutCableToday.com, the #1 site in the cord cutting niche. He also seeks to share his blogging knowledge on his newest site, Scribblrs.com.