How to Watch College Football on Hulu and Other Streaming Services

The most complicated thing about the 2025-2026 NCAA football season is figuring out how to watch your favorite team. Thankfully, there are no sweeping conference changes or shake-ups this year, which is a relief after the scrambling that happened prior to last season. The 12-team playoff format is still in place, but the seeding of the teams will differ from last year. There are also some minor rule changes to combat the faking of injuries and to timeouts in overtime.

Can You Watch College Football Without Cable?

Yes, you can watch every college football game without cable. The only problem is that you may need a patchwork of streaming apps, depending on which teams and how many games you want to watch. The 2025 college football season will be broadcast across an array of local channels, specialty sports networks, and even a couple of streaming services.

As mentioned above, the best streaming service for college football depends on your team and budget. The best streaming apps for live sports run the gamut of pricing - from eight bucks per month to a monstrous $100 per month. The more you pay, the wider selection of games you'll have access to.

Streaming Options for College Football

To help with your decision, we've rounded up the best streaming deals for college football fans. Before you decide on which live TV service or streaming app you need to watch NCAA college football games, you need to know which networks your team(s) plays on.

ESPN Unlimited

ESPN's newly launched Unlimited plan gives you access to the entirety of ESPN's suite of networks and services. For college football, you'll have live access to games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, SEC Network, SECN+, ACC Network, and ABC. That's a pretty big chunk - nearly 50 percent - of the channels you'll need to tune into games this season. The Unlimited plan on its own costs $29.99 per month, but for the first year, new subscribers can get the Unlimited plan bundled with Disney+ and Hulu for the same cost. That ultimately gives you Hulu and Disney+ for free for a year. Come Oct.

Read also: Hulu Student Discount Explained

ESPN Unlimited is a direct-to-consumer streaming service that allows you to stream all ESPN networks and services, including: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, and ESPN Deportes - in addition to ESPN on ABC, ESPN+, SEC Network+, and ACC Network Extra. With ESPN Unlimited you can stream over 47,000 live events from the best leagues and tournaments in the world, making it your home for the most and best live sports.

ESPN Select plan subscribers have access to ESPN+, with top-tier soccer, PGA TOUR, NHL, college sports, and a selection of other ESPN programming. There are two available bundle plans - ESPN Select and ESPN Unlimited.

Fox One

Fox conveniently launched its first streaming service the same day as ESPN's new Unlimited plan. It also offers a direct-to-consumer streaming model, giving subscribers access to live broadcasts on Fox, Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, and Big Ten Network throughout the college football season. It costs $19.99 per month, but you can save $40 by opting for the annual plan for $199.99 instead.

YouTube TV

The best value for a live TV cable alternative, YouTube TV gives you access to over 100 live channels. Those include most of the ones you need to watch college football games live - NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and ESPN, as well as specialty networks like Fox Sports 1, and SEC Network. For a limited time, YouTube TV is offering new users a discount on their first three months of service. Plus, you can kick things off with a 10-day free trial.

Sling TV

By prepaying for five months of Sling Orange, Blue, and Sports Extra in the Sling Season Pass, you can save about $51. The Orange and Blue packages give you access to FOX, NBC, ABC, ESPN, and more in local markets, while the Sports Extra package unlocks access to ACC Network, SEC Network, Big Ten Network, and more. It'll cost you $329 for five months of Sling Season Pass, which is significantly cheaper than any other live TV streaming service (about $66 per month).

Hulu + Live TV

While other live TV streamers might cost a little less, Hulu's live TV service definitely offers the most bang for your buck. You'll pay $82.99 per month (after a three-day trial) and get access to over 95 live TV channels, plus Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN Unlimited (all with ads). For comparison, YouTube TV is also $82.99 per month and only includes the live channels.

Hulu + Live TV plans include 95+ live TV channels and additional on-demand content from your favorite sports, entertainment, and news channels you can watch at home or on-the-go. You will also get access to the content from Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Select streaming libraries. Access content from each service separately.

Fubo

Fubo isn't our first choice for a live TV streaming service, but we do like that it takes sports seriously. With a Pro subscription (the most affordable tier), you'll get access to most college football broadcasts for $84.99 per month. You can also upgrade to 4K with the Elite plan, but it'll cost $104.99 per month.

Paramount+

If your team is in the Big Ten or plays on CBS and you're only a casual college football fan, a subscription to Paramount+ Premium is probably the best option. Paramount+ Premium allows you to tune into live CBS broadcasts of nearly two dozen Big Ten games, including a weekly, Saturday afternoon Big Ten game, starting Saturday, Aug. 30. It's regularly $12.99 per month, but you can save 17% by paying for a year upfront.

Peacock

Similar to Paramount+, Peacock offers simulcasts of games airing on NBC throughout the 2025 season. Plus, Peacock offers exclusive broadcasts as well. In order to watch live games, you'll need at least the Premium plan, which starts at $10.99 per month. You can save about 17%, however, by paying for a year upfront.

Disney+ Bundles

Disney+ offers several bundle options that include Hulu and ESPN+, providing access to a wide range of content, including live sports.

Choose between the following bundle plans:

Disney+, Hulu Bundle for $12.99/month, which includes Disney+ (With Ads) and Hulu (With Ads)
Disney+, Hulu Bundle Premium for $19.99/month, which includes Disney+ (No Ads) and Hulu (No Ads)
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle for $35.99/month which includes Disney+ (With Ads), Hulu (With Ads), and ESPN (With Ads)
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle Premium for $44.99/month, which includes Disney+ (No Ads), Hulu (No Ads), and ESPN (With Ads)

Additionally, you may also like the following plan offerings:

Hulu + Live TV plans
- Hulu + Live TV, Disney+ and ESPN Select for $89.99/month
- Hulu Premium + Live TV, Disney+ Premium and ESPN Select for $99.99/month
The Hulu + Live TV plans include 95+ live TV channels and additional on-demand content from your favorite sports, entertainment, and news channels you can watch at home or on-the-go. You will also get access to the content from Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Select streaming libraries. Access content from each service separately.
Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle
Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle plans include subscriptions to Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max, at discounted prices, as compared to the monthly retail price of each subscription when purchased separately. Currently, there is no annual subscription for the Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle.Choose between the following Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle Plans:
- Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle (With Ads) for $19.99/month, savings of more than $13 per month. This plan includes Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max all with ads.
- Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle (No Ads) for $32.99/month, savings of $21 per month. This plan includes Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max all without ads.

2025-2026 College Football Season Key Dates

Week 1 of the NCAA football season kicks off on Aug. 28, 2025, though a few teams will kick off in Week Zero (which begins Aug. 23). The season typically lasts for 13 weeks and closes out with the Army vs. Navy game on Dec.

The NCAA has set the following schedule for the college football playoffs and championship for the 2025-2026 season:

Quarterfinals - Dec. 31-Jan.
Semifinals - Jan.
CFP National Championship - Jan.

Overtime Rules in College Football

Like in the NFL, if the game is tied after four quarters, it goes to overtime, where officials invite the team's captains to the 50-yard line for a coin toss. But that's about where the similarities end. Overtime periods in college football consist of a two-possession series - each team gets one possession on offense and one on defense. The team on offense always starts at the designated 25-yard line (unless there's a penalty called). Each team retains the ball until it scores or fails to make a first down. Each team will receive one timeout for every overtime period.

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