9 Ways to Watch College Football Without Cable for Free!

That’s a good question because if you, like millions of others, have decided not to get a cable subscription, you might wonder where you’ll be able to get access to games.

Well, we’ve got you covered.

How to Watch College Football Without Cable

In today’s post, I’ll give you simple ways to watch college football games without paying for a cable subscription.

1. Get an HD antenna: Watch College Football Without Cable for Free

Really the only way to watch college football for free without cable is to use a digital HD antenna.

These aren’t like those old-school rabbit ear antennas that don’t have a great signal. They’re pretty good for getting games. Many stations like ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX air college football games.

So, this is a good option. However, with an antenna you can only watch what your local channels are broadcasting which is really a great way to save money since you can watch local TV without cable. That’s why you might want to try this next method instead…

Sign up for a Streaming Service with Free Trials

Like I said above, the only way to watch college football without cable for free is to use an HD antenna so that you can pick up games.

However, you’ll only get access to the ones that are being broadcast. Since many games are aired on places like ESPN, it means you can miss out.

A great option for catching lots of college football games is through streaming services. Services like Hulu offer channels like SEC and ESPN, where you can watch college football games. And, many of them offer FOX, CBS, NBC, and lots of other channels that broadcast college games.

Also, another benefit to streaming services is that you can watch games on multiple devices. Many of them offer an app so you can watch from your phone too!

Now, these services are not free, but many of them do provide a free trial period. So, you can get college games for free, at least for a short period.

Once the free trial period is finished, you will have to pay a monthly subscription fee.

However, this is, for most services, much cheaper than the cost of a cable TV subscription.

I would recommend signing up for free trials of these subscription services:

2. Sling TV

You can get some NCAA football games for free with a subscription to Sling TV.

Sling TV is a streaming service with a lot to offer.

Here’s why you should consider the service:

• Cost: $35 a month
• Free trial available: 3-day free trial
• Available channels: Get 37 channels, like ESPN, ESPNU, Longhorn Network, ACC Network, SEC Network, and FS1. There are lots of other channels available too, such as Comedy Central, TNT, TBS, AMC, A&E, HGTV, History, CNN, FX, and Lifetime.
• Other features: Get live sports, 80k+ shows and movies on-demand, 50 hours of free DVR storage or you can upgrade to 200 hours for $5 a month.

3. FuboTV

Another place that you can watch college sports, including football games, is with FuboTV. Like Sling TV, this is a streaming service that’s offering a multitude of channels.

Here’s why you might want to consider it:

• Cost: $64 a month
• Free trial available: 7-day free trial
• Available channels: 100+ channels like ABC, NFL, MLB, NBC, FS1, FOX, ESPN, ESPNU, and SEC. You can also get lots of other channels, like People TV, Hallmark, SyFy, Starz, and National Geographic.
• Other features: You can watch live and on-demand and get 30 hours of cloud DVR space.

4. YouTube TV

YouTube TV is a streaming service from YouTube where you can get access to lots of different channels, including ones that broadcast sports.

Here’s why you might want to consider YouTube:

• Cost: $64.99 a month
• Free trial available: Two-week free trial
• Available channels: More than 85 channels available, like FS1, FOX, ESPN, CBS, and NBC. You can also get access to other channels like Comedy Central, AMC, and CNN.
• Other features: You can watch and DVR live sports, shows, and news. And, you can also record without DVR storage space limits.

5. Paramount Plus

Formerly known as CBS All Access, Paramount Plus is a streaming service that offers sports, movies, and more. With it, you’d get the content you used to get with CBS All Access, which includes college football.

• Cost: Prices start at $5.99 a month.
• Free trial available: 1 week usually, but 1 month trial offer was available at the time of writing.
• Channels available: Get access to CBS Sports. You also get access to all the content you’d expect from CBS All Access and to other channels like Nickelodeon, BET, and Comedy Central.
• Other features: You can watch on up to 3 devices, and stream commercial free except on live TV and a few shows. You can also download shows and movies to watch offline!

6. Hulu + Live TV

If you sign up for Hulu + Live TV, you can get access to lots of channels that broadcast college football games!

Awesome, right?

Here’s why you may want to consider Hulu + Live TV:

• Cost: $64.99 a month
• Free trial available: 7-day trial
• Channels available: 65+ channels, including CBS, ABC, NBC, ESPN, ESPNU, and FOX. Plus, you get access to other channels like The Food Network, The Disney Channel, Discovery, A&E, Adult Swim, and FX.
• Other features: Stream full seasons of exclusive series, hit movies, current episodes, premium Hulu Originals, and more. Record live TV with five hours of storage.

Also don’t forget to check out our post on how to get Hulu for free!

Other Streaming Services to Try

Okay, so above, I’ve given you quite a few ways to watch college football for free without cable.

In this section, I just want to cover a few more streaming services that you might want to consider. I’ve included these in a separate section because they don’t offer a free trial. So, they don’t give you a free way to watch NCAA games. That being said, they are much cheaper than a cable subscription.

Consider these services if you’re looking for some more options for watching college football:

7. ESPN+

Another option to consider if you want to get lots of college games is ESPN+. It doesn’t offer a free trial, but it’s far cheaper than cable, and you can watch tons of games with it.

Here’s why you should consider ESPN+:

• Cost: $5.99 a month. That’s incredibly cheap when you compare it to the cost of a cable subscription.
• Sports available: You get access to college football games, and other college sports such as basketball and lacrosse. Get access to live events from MLB, NHL, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup, Top Rank Boxing, and more. Plus, you get UFC Fight Nights and PPV events, and Grand Slam tennis.
• Other features: You can stream on multiple channels at once. Get access to ESPN+ Originals from well-known names in sports, such as Peyton’s Places with Peyton Manning, Stephen A’s World with Stephen A. Smith, Detail with Vince Carter, and Ariel & The Bad Guy with Ariel Helwani. Also get access to the Full 30 for 30 Library, which is a series of sports documentaries.

8. AT&T TV

One option to consider is AT&T TV. It’s another streaming platform offering lots of sports. It’s not free and there’s no free trial available, but it can work out cheaper than a cable TV subscription.

Here’s why you should consider the platform:

• Cost: Prices start at $69.99 a month
• Available channels: 65+ channels available including ESPN, CBS Sport Network, MLB Network, FS1, and NBA TV, as well as other non-sports channels, like TNT, HGTV, and Nickelodeon. Channels available depend on the package you choose.
• Other features: You can watch TV live and on-demand.

9. TVision (LIVE TV+)

Next on the list we have TVision. It’s an online television service from T-Mobile. Now, this service is only available to T-Mobile and legacy Sprint postpaid customers with up to 12 wireless voice lines.

TVision has a few different packages available, and with the LIVE TV+ package, you get access to lots of channels that carry college football games.

Here’s why you might want to consider TVision LIVE TV+:

• Cost: $50 a month
• Available channels: 85+ channels on offer, such as ESPNU, ESPN, NBC Sports Network, ABC, and FOX. Also get access to other channels like The Cooking Channel, E!, and SyFy.
• Other features: Watch videos on demand from the service’s library of movies and shows. With cloud DVR, you can record up to 100 hours of your favorite content.

Enjoy the Game!

I think that cable is overpriced, so I totally get why so many people are choosing to cut the cord.

Thankfully, you don’t have to miss out on college football games just because you don’t have a cable subscription.

If you just want to pick up a few games, getting an HD antenna is definitely your best option.

If you’d like to stay up to date though, consider one of the streaming platforms mentioned above. It’s great that most of them offer free trials., and many of them, like Sling TV, and FuboTV work out way cheaper than a cable subscription!

Have any tips on how to watch college football without a cable subscription? If so, share them with us in the comments section below.