How to watch the bowl games

There are 44 college bowl games/playoff games this year. The first two are on December 17, and the last one, the national championship game, is on January 10. In all, 86 schools will be playing games this post-season.

Streamers used to have a difficult time watching the games live -- at least legally -- but that changed in the 2015 season when the first live streaming service, Sling TV, launched. Now, there are several live streaming services, and you have lots of options when it comes to watching bowl games.

The Games

Friday, December 17

Bahamas Bowl

12:00 PM on ESPN

Middle Tennessee (6-6) vs. Toledo (7-5)

Tailgreeter Cure Bowl

6:00 PM on ESPN2

Northern Illinois (9-4) vs. Coastal Carolina (10-2)

Saturday, December 18

RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl

11:00 AM on ESPN

Western Kentucky (8-5) vs. Appalachian State (10-3)

Cricket Celebration Bowl

12:00 PM on ABC

South Carolina State (6-5) vs. Jackson State (11-1)

PUBG Mobile New Mexico Bowl

2:15 PM on ESPN

Texas-El Paso (7-5) vs. Fresno State (9-3)

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl

3:30 PM on ABC

Alabama-Birmingham (8-4) vs. Brigham Young (10-2)

LendingTree Bowl

5:45 PM on ESPN

Eastern Michigan (7-5) vs. Liberty (7-5)

Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl

7:30 PM on ABC

Utah State (10-3) vs. Oregon State (7-5)

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

9:15 PM on ESPN

Louisiana (12-1) vs. Marshall (7-5)

Monday, December 20

Myrtle Beach Bowl

2:30 PM on ESPN

Old Dominion (6-6) vs. Tulsa (6-6) 

Tuesday, December 21

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

3:30 PM on ESPN

Kent State (7-6) vs. Wyoming (6-6)

Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl

7:30 PM on ESPN

Texas-San Antonio (12-1) vs. San Diego State (11-2)

Wednesday, December 22

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

8:00 PM on ESPN

Missouri (6-6) vs. Army (8-3)

Thursday, December 23

Frisco Football Classic

3:30 PM on ESPN

North Texas (6-6) vs. Miami University (6-6)

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl

7:00 PM on ESPN

Central Florida (8-4) vs. Florida (6-6)

Friday, December 24

EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl

8:00 PM on ESPN

Memphis (6-6) vs. Hawai'i (6-7)

Saturday, December 25

TaxAct Camellia Bowl

2:30 PM on ESPN

Georgia State (7-5) vs. Ball State (6-6)

Monday, December 27

Quick Lane Bowl

11 AM on ESPN

Western Michigan (7-5) vs. Nevada (8-4)

Military Bowl

2:30 PM on ESPN

Boston College (6-6) vs. East Carolina (7-5)

Tuesday, December 28

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

12 PM on ESPN

Houston (11-2) vs. Auburn (6-6)

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl

3:15 PM on ESPN

Air Force (9-3) vs. Louisville (6-6)

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

6:45 PM on ESPN

Mississippi State (7-5) vs. Texas Tech (6-6)

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl

8:00 PM on Fox

California-Los Angeles (8-4) vs. North Carolina State (9-3)

Guaranteed Rate Bowl

10:15 PM on ESPN

West Virginia (6-6) vs. Minnesota (8-4)

Wednesday, December 29

Wasabi Fenway Bowl

11 AM on ESPN

Southern Methodist (8-4) vs. Virginia (6-6)

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

2:15 PM on ESPN

Maryland (6-6) vs. Virginia Tech (6-6)

Cheez-It Bowl

5:45 PM on ESPN

Clemson (9-3) vs. Iowa State (7-5)

Valero Alamo Bowl

9:15 PM on ESPN

Oregon (10-3) vs. Oklahoma (10-2)

Thursday, December 30

Duke's Mayo Bowl

11:30 AM on ESPN

North Carolina (6-6) vs. South Carolina (6-6)

TransPerfect Music City Bowl

3:00 PM on ESPN

Tennessee (7-5) vs. Purdue (8-4)

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

7:00 PM on ESPN

Michigan State (10-2) vs. Pittsburgh (11-2)

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl

10:30 PM on ESPN

Wisconsin (8-4) vs. Arizona State (8-4)

Friday, December 31

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl

11:00 AM on ESPN

Wake Forest (10-3) vs. Texas A&M (8-4)

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl

2:00 PM on CBS

Washington State (7-5) vs. Miami (7-5)

Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl

2:00 PM on Barstool Sports app

Central Michigan (8-4) vs. Boise State (7-5)

Saturday, January 1

Outback Bowl

12:00 PM on ESPN2

Penn State (7-5) vs. Arkansas (8-4)

Vrbo Citrus Bowl

1:00 PM on ABC

Iowa (10-3) vs. Kentucky (9-3)

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl

1:00 PM on ESPN

Notre Dame (11-1) vs. Oklahoma State (11-2)

Rose Bowl

5:00 PM on ESPN

Ohio State (10-2) vs. Utah (10-3)

Allstate Sugar Bowl

8:45 PM on ESPN

Mississippi (10-2) vs. Baylor (11-2)

Tuesday, January 4

TaxAct Texas Bowl

9:00 PM on ESPN

Louisiana State (6-6) vs. Kansas State (7-5)

Friday, December 31

College Football Playoff Semifinal: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

3:30 PM on ESPN

No. 4 Cincinnati (13-0) vs. No. 1 Alabama (12-1)

College Football Playoff Semifinal: Capital One Orange Bowl

7:30 PM on ESPN

No. 3 Georgia (12-1) vs. No. 2 Michigan (12-1)

Monday, January 10

College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T

8:00 PM ESPN

Cotton Bowl winner vs Orange Bowl winner

How to Watch

Apart from the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl on December 31, which will be streamed free on the Barstool Sports app, every other game will be on a streaming service.

Here are the services for each network.

ESPN/ESPN2

ESPN carries the most games. A few are carried on ESPN2. All services that carry ESPN also carry ESPN2:

• Sling Orange ($35)
• Vidgo ($55)
• Hulu+Live TV ($65)
• YouTube TV ($65)
• Fubo ($65)
• DirecTV Stream ($70)

ABC

If you have an antenna, you can watch for free. If not, and you decide to go with a streaming service, you have some options:

• Antenna (free)
• Vidgo ($55)
• Hulu+Live TV ($65)
• YouTube TV ($65)
• Fubo ($65)
• DirecTV Stream ($70)

CBS

If you have an antenna, you can watch for free. If not, and you decide to go with a streaming service, you have some options:

• Antenna (free)
• Paramount+ ($10)
• Hulu+Live TV ($65)
• YouTube TV ($65)
• Fubo ($65)
• DirecTV Stream ($70)

Fox

If you have an antenna, you can watch for free. If not, and you decide to go with a streaming service, you have some options:

• Antenna (free)
• Sling Blue, select markets only ($35)
• Hulu+Live TV ($65)
• YouTube TV ($65)
• Fubo ($65)
• DirecTV Stream ($70)

If you have an antenna for the broadcast networks, the cheapest way to watch all of the bowl games is Sling Orange. If you don't have an antenna, the cheapest way to watch them all is with either Hulu+Live TV, YouTube TV, or Fubo. They're $65. Note that Hulu+Live TV will go up on price by $5 on December 21.