Getty Desmond Ridder and the Cincinnati Bearcats will face Notre Dame this weekend.
The No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats (3-0) and the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-0) clash in a top 10 showdown at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, October 2.
The game (2:30 p.m. ET start time) will be televised nationally on NBC. But if you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch a live stream of Cincinnati vs Notre Dame online:
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FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of NBC (live in most markets) and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Cincinnati vs Notre Dame live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
You can also watch live via NBCSports.com or the NBC Sports app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your FuboTV credentials to log in and watch.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” NBC (live in most markets) is included in every one, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free 14-day trial.
Note that the free trial isn’t advertised as such, but your “due today” amount will be $0 when signing up. If you watch on your computer, phone or tablet, you won’t be charged for 14 days. If you watch on a streaming device on your TV (Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.), you will be charged for the first month, but you can get still get a full refund if you cancel before 14 days:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Cincinnati vs Notre Dame live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
You can also watch live via NBCSports.com or the NBC Sports app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your DirecTV Stream credentials (may still be listed as AT&T on the list of cable providers) to log in and watch.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to unlimited hours).
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of NBC (live in select markets) and 45-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Blue” package. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with NBC, and you can get your first month for $10:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch Cincinnati vs Notre Dame live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
You can also watch live via NBCSports.com or the NBC Sports app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your Sling credentials to log in and watch.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 50 hours of cloud DVR.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of NBC (live in most markets) and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch Cincinnati vs Notre Dame live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
You can also watch live via NBCSports.com or the NBC Sports app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your Hulu credentials to log in and watch.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu with Live TV also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Cincinnati vs Notre Dame Preview
The Bearcats last played on September 18, when they handed the Indiana Hoosiers a 38-24 loss. Quarterback Desmond Ridder went 20-36 for 210 yards, a touchdown and an interception while also adding 45 yards and a score on the ground.
Jerome Ford chipped in with 66 yards and two scores on 20 carries, but Ridder is going to need more help than that against the Irish — and he should get it. The Cincinnati QB leads an offense that is putting up 43 points a game so far this season, and the Bearcats are averaging 165.0 yards per game on the ground. They’ll be going up against a Notre Dame defense that’s allowing 23.3 points and 128.8 rushing yards per contest.
“This is what you’ve always dreamed of,” Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell said about playing Notre Dame. “This is what you want. This is what these guys have worked for. Not just to play Notre Dame because that’s always a big deal. But to have the matchup where you’re legitimately two top-10 teams that a lot of people are excited about watching.”
On the other side, Notre Dame is coming off a 41-13 win over the Wisconsin Badgers last weekend. Quarterback Jack Coan did just enough against his former team, completing 15 of 29 passes for 158 yards and a TD. Coan has completed 60.6% of his passes for 986 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions this season, and he’s leading a Notre Dame offense that’s scoring 35.3 points a game — but he injured his ankle and backup Drew Pyne entered the game, completing six passes for 81 yards and a TD.
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly has said Coan will start if he’s good to go, but we’ll see what happens when Saturday comes around. Whichever QB rolls out there will be challenged in a big way this week against a Bearcats defense that’s giving up 15 points and just under 300 total yards per game.
“In our two-minute drill yesterday, we had Coan in there,” Kelly said Wednesday. “I thought he did a pretty good job. He’s ahead of where I thought he would be on Wednesday and he has today and tomorrow. Drew and Jack have kind of split the first-team reps and we’ve continued to work Tyler’s [Buchner] package that he’s traditionally had in weeks past. We’re getting all three of them ready right now.”
This will be a huge game with big implications for both teams, and the Bearcats are slight favorites despite going into hostile territory.
“It’s big. We’re not going to lie to you,” Fickell said about what this game means to his team. “But once the thing is kicked off, you can’t let all the emotions of all the different stuff that’s going on affect you and how you go about things. The emotions throughout the week can drain you. You need to be at your best on Saturday.”