In past years at this point in the college football calendar, there were four teams left with championship hopes. That’s all changed this year with the new 12-team playoff that has expanded title hopes to a dozen schools. The top four seeds have earned a first-round bye, but the other eight teams will begin the College Football Playoff next weekend.
Most games will be on ESPN, but you’ll also need TNT or Max for two first-round games because nothing is easy when it comes to live streaming sports. If you don’t have a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can watch every game of the CFP with a live TV streaming service. Keep reading to see the first-round matchups, full playoff schedule and the best ways to watch the games over the next month.
The Oregon Ducks are the top seed in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
College Football Playoff schedule
The 12-team CFP will feature 11 games over the next month, starting Friday, Dec. 20 and ending with the national championship game on Monday, Jan. 20. Here’s the full schedule (all times ET):
First round:
Friday, Dec. 20
- No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame at 8 p.m. on ABC/ESPN
Saturday, Dec. 21
- No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State at 12 p.m. on TNT/Max
- No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas at 4 p.m. on TNT/Max
- No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State at 8 p.m. on ABC/ESPN
Quarterfinals:
Tuesday, Dec. 31
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 Boise State vs. Penn State/SMU winner at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
Wednesday, Jan. 1
- Peach Bowl: No. 4 Arizona State vs. Texas/Clemson winner at 1 p.m. on ESPN
- Rose Bowl: No. 1 Oregon vs. Ohio State/Tennessee winner at 5 p.m. on ESPN
- Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Georgia vs. Notre Dame/Indiana winner at 8:45 p.m. on ESPN
Semifinals:
Thursday, Jan. 9
- Orange Bowl: 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
Friday, Jan. 10
- Cotton Bowl: 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
CFP National Championship
- Monday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
How to watch the CFP without cable
Nine of the 11 playoff games will be on ESPN, with two first-round games on TNT and Max. All five of the major live TV streaming services carry ESPN, and four of the five include both ESPN and TNT (all but Fubo).
Sling TV’s Sling Orange plan includes ESPN and TNT, and the Blue plan includes ABC (in only in a handful of markets) and TNT. You’ll want the Orange plan for CFP viewing because every game after the first round will be shown on ESPN.
Each plan costs $45 a month in the areas with ABC and $40 elsewhere. The combined Orange-and-Blue plan costs $55 or $60 a month.
YouTube TV costs $83 a month after a recent price hike and includes ABC, ESPN and TNT. Right now, the first three months are discounted to $60 a month. And there is a 21-day free trial. Plug in your ZIP code on YouTube TV’s welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area.
Hulu Plus Live TV costs $83 a month and includes ABC, ESPN and TNT. On its live news page, you can enter your ZIP code under the “Can I watch local news in my area?” question at the bottom of the page to see which local channels you get.
Read our Hulu with Live TV review.
Fubo’s Essential plan costs $80 a month and includes ABC and ESPN but not TNT. With Fubo, you’ll miss out on the two first-round games on TNT — Penn St. vs. SMU and Texas vs. Clemson — but will be able to watch every other game of the playoff on ESPN.
Fubo is currently offering the first month for $45. You can click here to see which local channels you get.
All of the live TV streaming services above allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.
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