Getty North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Sam Howell.
The UNC Tar Heels football team will play their annual spring game on Saturday at Kenan Memorial Stadium.
The game starts at 3 p.m. ET and will be televised on ACC Network. But if you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch a live stream of the 2021 UNC spring game online for free:
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FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of ACC Network and 130-plus other TV channels on FuboTV. You’ll need the main channel package and the “Sports Plus” add-on, both of which can be included in your seven-day free trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the 2021 UNC spring game live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch the game on your computer via the FuboTV website.
You can also watch the game live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your FuboTV credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV also 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.
AT&T TV
AT&T TV has four different channel packages: “Entertainment”, “Choice”, “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ACC Network is in the “Choice” and above bundles, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want for 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, Firestick, 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 AT&T TV, you can watch the 2021 UNC spring game live on the AT&T TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the AT&T TV website.
You can also watch the game live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your AT&T TV credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to unlimited hours).
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of ACC Network and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which comes with a seven-day free trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch the 2021 UNC spring game live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch the game on your computer via the Hulu website.
You can also watch the game live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Hulu credentials to do that.
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).
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of ACC Network and 40-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s Sling Orange plus Sports Extra bundle. This option doesn’t come with a free trial, but you can get $10 off your first month, and get Showtime, Starz, and Epix included for free:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch the 2021 UNC spring game live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch the game on your computer via the Sling TV website.
You can also watch the game live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Sling credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 50 hours of cloud DVR.
UNC Spring Game 2021 Preview
The Tar Heels went 8-4 in 2020, the second season of Mack Brown’s second stint as their head coach, and finished 7-3 in conference play to place fourth in the ACC.
Led by quarterback Sam Howell, then a sophomore, the UNC offense amassed an ACC-best 537.3 yards per game. Howell completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 3,586 yards, 30 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He added 146 yards and 5 scores with his feet and even reeled in a 1-yard touchdown grab.
Howell recently said he’s been focusing on limiting the number of sacks he takes in 2021. Opposing defenses took him down behind the line of scrimmage 33 times last season, more than all but one FBS quarterback; the Duke Blue Devils’ Chase Brice took 34 sacks.
“Honestly, it’s a lot of things,” Howell said, according to 247Sports. “It’s different on every single play. Maybe on some plays, I could have just thrown the ball away. Some plays I could have hit my check down. Some plays there was actually someone open downfield. It really is different on kind of every single play, so just trying to make sure I always have the mindset of getting the ball out of my hands just try to make better decisions.
“Now it’s just trying to take stress off the offensive line because they do a really good job. I know the numbers at times don’t really look like they do, and I put them in some hard situations. Just trying to always take some pressure off those guys, and when I can get the ball into someone else’s hands, I need to be able to do that.”
The Tar Heels will bring back 10 of 11 starters on a defense that held opponents to 400.9 yards per game, good for fifth in the ACC
Junior linebacker Eugene Asante is expected to take Chazz Surratt’s starting spot. He did just that in last season’s Orange Bowl defeat after Surratt opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft.
Asante, a special teams fixture across his first two seasons, came up with 10 total tackles and 7 solo tackles in the loss to the Texas A&M Aggies, both team highs.
“He’s really maturing as a linebacker, he’s getting a better understanding of the calls,” sophomore linebacker Kaimon Rucker said, according to the The News & Observer. “He’s getting to us quicker. He knows how to facilitate the defense. He needs to be that field general that we need alongside Jeremiah Gemmel and I think he’s doing a tremendous job.”