If you’re a college football fan, you certainly have plans tonight.
That’s because Oregon and Ohio State will battle it out in Dallas in the first-ever College Football Playoff national championship. No longer will fans have to debate college football’s best team or rely on BCS algorithms and polls to determine a champion — this is the first season with a playoff system in place.
The No. 2 Ducks and No. 4 Buckeyes will kickoff at 5:30 p.m. PT tonight on ESPN. Those that have access to ESPN via their cable subscription can stream the game at WatchESPN. Hopefully for viewers, ESPN won’t have issues like it did during the Rose Bowl earlier this month.
WatchESPN, which streamed both the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl this season, can be accessed at WatchESPN.com and via the WatchESPN mobile apps (Android, iOS, Windows 8, Windows Phone, Kindle Fire, Fire TV,Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, Xbox 360). You’ll need a cable subscription that includes ESPN from one of these providers to access the ESPN feeds.
If the ESPN stream doesn’t work, Comcast customers can try streaming online here. U-Verse subscribers can try this link, while Time Warner customers can go here.
The game is also being broadcast on the airwaves via ESPN Radio, which has apps for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.
ESPN has a host of other ways to enjoy the game online. With WatchESPN, you can watch the game with “Film Room,” which incorporates live analysis from analysts and coaches. The “Command Center” feed will show a “full-time, split-screen application showing live game action, along with immediate replays of every play and isolated camera feeds of both head coaches, enhanced statistics and the ESPN Radio broadcast call.”
There’s also the “DataCenter,” which shows analytics, social media reaction, and related data. Those that prefer to watch the game with their home team radio announcers and isolated cameras on coaches and players can do so — Oregon fans should go here; Ohio State fans should go here.
Finally, you can watch the game from unique angles — check out the SpiderCam here, and a view from the Taco Bell Student Section here.
Speaking of streaming sports online, Dish Network made a big announcement last week at CES when it unveiled Sling TV, a $20 per month internet-based TV service that brings users 12 live channels including ESPN, ESPN2, CNN, the Travel Channel and Food Network — not a bad option for sports fans who want to avoid buying a more expensive monthly cable or satellite subscription.
Featured image courtesy of Flickr user NeonTommy.
