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With the majority of their offense back, including Heisman candidate Bryce Love, Stanford enters the 2018 season as a legitimate threat to Washington in the Pac-12 North. They’ll need to navigate a tough schedule, but the Cardinal have the talent to make a run at the college football playoff.
Every Stanford football game will be broadcast nationally on one of the following channels: ABC, Fox, Fox Sports 1, any of the ESPN channels, or the Pac-12 Network (full schedule). Fortunately, even if you don’t have cable or a TV, you can watch one, some or all of these channels by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live TV streaming services:
FuboTV: Includes Fox, Fox Sports 1, Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Regional Networks
Hulu With Live TV: Includes ABC, Fox, Fox Sports 1, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN News
Sling TV: Includes Fox, Fox Sports 1, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN News and Pac-12 Network
All of these services allow you to watch live TV without a cable box or satellite or annual contract. All you need is an internet connection. Here’s a rundown of what they include, how to sign up, and how to watch a live stream of Stanford games in 2018:
FuboTV
Though it also has a good amount of entertainment channels, FuboTV is one of the best streaming services for watching live sports. Among many other sports channels, the main “Fubo” package comes with Fox, FS1, and the Pac-12 Network–and has all of the regional Pac-12 Networks available as an add-on. It also has a lot of nice user experience features, including an interface that lets you search by sport, included DVR, and my personal favorite, a “72-hour lookback” feature, which lets you watch games on-demand up to three days later even without recording them.
The one drawback is that the ESPN channels aren’t included, but for games on the Fox channels and the Pac-12 Network, FuboTV is a really good option–and it’s a very good value for how many channels you’re getting.
Stanford Football Channels Included: Fox, Fox Sports 1, Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Regional Networks
Pricing Options: The “Fubo” package, which has 80-plus channels including the ones listed above, costs $39.99 for the first month, and then $44.99 per month after that. The “Sports Plus” add-on, which has all of the Pac-12 Regional Networks, is $8.99 per month
Extras: Watch on two different devices at once; 30 hours of cloud DVR is included; also includes a “72-hour lookback” feature, which allows you to watch games and shows up to three days after they air, even if you forgot to DVR them
How to Sign Up: Head to the FuboTV website and select “Start Your Free Trial”. After creating an account, select your channel package and any extras if you want. You’ll need to enter your payment information, but if you cancel your subscription within seven days of signing up, you will not be charged.
How & Where to Watch: If you want to watch on your computer, just return to the FuboTV website and navigate to a channel to start watching live TV. The Chrome browser is suggested.
If you want to watch on your phone, tablet or other streaming device, you can do so via the FuboTV app, which is free to download for the following devices: Amazon Fire TV or TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Android phones and tablets, iPads and iPhones
Hulu With Live TV
Hulu
Hulu with Live TV offers the perfect mix of entertainment and live sports for cord-cutters. Not only does it come with an extensive Netflix-like library of on-demand TV shows (Seinfeld, It’s Always Sunny, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, etc.) and movies, but it also gives you almost all the channels (no Pac-12 Network is the one drawback) that will broadcast Stanford football games in 2018.
If you can get past the lack of Pac-12 Network, getting all of that for just $40 per month is great value.
Stanford Football Channels Included: ABC (live in select markets), Fox, Fox Sports 1, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN News. There are a total of 50-plus channels included, as well as Hulu’s on-demand streaming library (a $7.99 or $11.99 per month value).
Pricing Options: Hulu With Live TV (with the “Limited Commercials” on-demand plan): $39.99 per month | Hulu With Live TV (with the “No Commercials” on-demand library plan): $43.99 per month
Extras: The regular Hulu With Live TV plan allows you to watch on two different devices at the same time, but you can watch on unlimited screens at the same time for $15 per month extra; 50 hours of cloud DVR is included, but you can upgrade to 200 hours of enhanced cloud DVR for $15 per month.
How to Sign Up: Go to the Hulu website and select “Sign Up Now”. After creating an account, select your channel package and any extras you want, then enter your payment information.
How & Where to Watch: If you want to watch on your computer, simply return to the Hulu website and select “Start Watching” at the top of the page, and then “Live TV.” Scroll to whatever channel you want to start watching live TV.
If you want to watch on your phone, tablet or other streaming device, you can do so via the Hulu app, which is free to download for the following devices: Amazon Fire TV or TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Android phones and tablets, iPads and iPhones, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, select Smart TV’s and other devices.
Additionally, Cardinal games that are on ABC or any of the ESPN channels can also be watched on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. You’ll need to log in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Hulu credentials to do that.
Sling TV
The first to dive into the cable-free, live-TV streaming service, Sling TV’s biggest selling point continues to be its low price point. However, while the basic “Sling Orange” or “Sling Blue” is a cheap entry point, you need to get both base packages plus the “Sports Extra” add-on to get all the channels that will show Stanford football games, which adds up to $50 per month ($55 if you want DVR).
Still, while the value ends up being worse than the first two options, this is the best way to get every channel that will broadcast a Stanford game in 2018:
Stanford Football Channels Included: ESPN and ESPN2 are part of the “Sling Orange” bundle, Fox and FS1 are part of the “Sling Blue” bundle, and ESPNU, ESPN News and Pac-12 Network are in the “Sports Extra” add-on
Price: Sling Orange: $25 per month | Sling Blue: $25 per month | Sling Orange + Blue: $40 per month | Sports Extra add-on: $10 per month ($5 per month if you add it to just Sling Orange)
Extras: Watch on one device at once with Sling Orange or Sling Orange+Blue; Watch on three devices at once with Sling Blue; 50 hours of cloud DVR is $5 per month extra.
How to Sign Up: Go to the Sling TV website and select “Watch Now 7 Days Free.” After creating an account, select your channel package and any extras you want, then enter your payment information to sign up.
How & Where to Watch: If you want to watch on your computer, just return to the Sling TV website and navigate to your desired channel to start watching live TV. If you want to watch on your phone, tablet or other streaming device, you can do so via the Sling TV app, which is free to download for the following devices: Amazon Fire TV or TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Android phones and tablets, iPads and iPhones, Fire tablets, and Xbox One.
Additionally, Stanford games that are on ABC or any of the ESPN channels can also be watched on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. You’ll need to log in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Sling TV credentials to do that.
Season Preview
It’s the Season of Love.
Bryce Love was unstoppable last season, averaging an absurd 8.1 yards per carry on 263 attempts en route to 2,118 yards, 19 touchdowns and a second-place finish in the Heisman voting. Now, set to play behind pretty much the same offensive line the Cardinal lose left guard David Bright but return four all-conference performers in the trenches, led by preseason first-team All-American Nate Herbig, he’s the popular pick to win college football’s most prestigious award.
Of course, while Love shouldn’t lack individual accolades, team success will hinge on the quarterback play.
Replacing Keller Chryst for wins over UCLA and Arizona State at the start of the year, and then again at midseason, K.J. Costello played the majority of eight games (seven starts) as a freshman last year, throwing for 1,377 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions.
In those eight games with Costello under center, Stanford went 5-3 with wins over UCLA, Washington and Notre Dame, averaging 32.88 points per game. In the other six, they went 4-2 with 31.67 points per game (that number is a bit skewed by a 62-point effort against Rice, who went 1-11. Without that game, the Cardinal averaged just 25.6 points per game without Costello).
With Costello back healthy after missing spring practice due to a hip injury, with the country’s most productive running back behind one of the best offensive lines, and with a veteran receiving corps that includes All-American Kaden Smith at tight end, the Cardinal have the pieces to do some serious damage in 2018.
The schedule, though, isn’t doing them any favors.
In the opener, they host a San Diego State team that beat them last year. They should get revenge there, but after that is an immediate date with No. 15 USC. Then, after a should-be walkover in UC Davis in Week 3, they have back-to-back road games against No. 24 Oregon and No. 12 Notre Dame. Things don’t get much easier in the second half of the season, which features trips to Arizona State, Washington and UCLA.
Still, with as much talent that is on this team, getting back to double-digit wins and contending with Washington in the Pac-12 North is well within reason. David Shaw, who has five Top-12 finishes in his seven years as head coach in Palo Alto, has proven that his teams can never be overlooked.
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