The postseason is set for this year's slate of college football games. And, no, we're not quite ready to crown Alabama yet again. There are games to be played. The question, of course, is when are the college football bowl games, and what channel are the games on?
OK, one other question — how the hell do you watch the final college football games of 2018 if you don't have cable? We've got answers for all that.
By the way: All times you read on this page are Eastern. You'll have to do the math yourself.
Get an over-the-air antenna
Normally an over-the-air antenna is the first answer we give folks when it comes to watching sports. But only four of the bowl games are on broadcast TV this year. Which games, you ask? These games:
- North Carolina A&T vs. Alcorn State, noon, Dec. 15, ABC
- Fresno State vs. Arizona State, 3:30 p.m., Dec. 15, ABC
- South Carolina vs. Virginia, Noon, Dec. 29, ABC
- Kentucky vs. Penn State, 1 p.m., Jan. 1, ABC
So if any of those games is your jam, you can get it for free via an over-the-air antenna.
The best over-the-air antennas
Stream the college football bowl games
Really, though, streaming services are going to be your best choice this year. Other than those four games above, everything else is on CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN, or (a single game on) FS1.
The good news? ESPN (which is where you'll be watching most of the games) is on damned near every streaming service out there. So if you're already streaming, you're probably good to go. CBS Sports Network is also pretty readily available, as is FS1. You may have to upgrade from a bottom-end plan to watch your game. CBSSN, for instance, is on PlayStation Vue's second-tier plan, and ESPN is on Sling Orange but not Sling Blue, and FS1 is on Sling Blue but not Sling Orange — but all of the channels can be had.
And even better? All of these services have free trials. So if you really want to exercise frugality, sign up with a free trial, watch your game, and ghost once the final whistle blows.
Here's which channels are available on each streaming service:
| Header Cell - Column 0 | PSVue | DirecTV Now | Sling TV | Hulu Live | YouTube TV | Fubo | HDHomerun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBSSN | x | x | Row 0 - Cell 3 | x | x | X | Row 0 - Cell 7 |
| ESPN | x | x | x | x | x | Row 1 - Cell 6 | x |
| ESPN2 | x | x | x | x | x | Row 2 - Cell 6 | x |
| FS1 | x | x | x | x | x | X | Row 3 - Cell 7 |
It's also worth noting that most of the streaming services also offer up your local broadcast channels, which also could bring ABC back into play. That varies depending on location, however, so you'll need to check on your own situation.
And that's it. Good luck to your team. And especially to Oklahoma.
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College Football Postseason Schedule
Thursday, Dec. 27
- Walk-On's Independence Bowl: Temple vs. Duke, 1:30 p.m., ESPN
- New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Miami vs. Wisconsin, 5:15 p.m., ESPN
- Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl: Baylor vs. Vanderbilt, 9 p.m., ESPN
Friday, Dec. 28
- Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: Purdue vs. Auburn, 1:30 p.m., ESPN
- Camping World Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse, 5:15 p.m., ESPN
- Valero Alamo Bowl: Iowa State vs. Washington State, 9 p.m., ESPN
Saturday, Dec. 29
- Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: No. 10 Florida vs. No. 7 Michigan, Noon, ESPN
- Belk Bowl: South Carolina vs. Virginia, Noon, ABC
- NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Nevada, 1:15 p.m., CBSSN
- Semifinal: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Notre Dame, 4 p.m., ESPN
- Semifinal: Capital One Orange Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Oklahoma, 8 p.m., ESPN
Monday, Dec. 31
- Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman: Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech, Noon, ESPN
- Hyundai Sun Bowl: Stanford vs. Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., CBS
- Redbox Bowl: Michigan State vs. Oregon, 3 p.m. ET, Fox
- AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Missouri vs. Oklahoma State, 3:45 p.m., ESPN
- San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl: Northwestern vs. Utah, 7 p.m. ET, FS1
- TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: NC State vs. Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday, Jan. 1
- Outback Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Iowa, Noon, ESPN2
- VRBO Citrus Bowl: Kentucky vs. Penn State, 1 p.m., ABC
- PlayStation Fiesta Bowl: No. 11 LSU vs. No. 8 UCF, 1 p.m., ESPN
- Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual: No. 9 Washington vs. No. 6 Ohio State, 5 p.m., ESPN
- Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 15 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia, 8:45 p.m., ESPN
January 7, 2019
- National Championship Game: Semifinal winners, 8 p.m., ESPN
