NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 17: Chase Claypool #83 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates a touchdown as against the Syracuse Orange during their game at Yankee Stadium on November 17, 2018 in New York, New York. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
For the first time since 2012, the No. 3 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-0) have an opportunity to play on for the National Championship. They control their own destiny when they head west to take on the USC Trojans (5-6) at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday night.
The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on ABC. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can still watch a live stream of the game (or DVR it) on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including ABC (live in select markets, but even if it isn’t included in your market, you’ll be able to watch the game on the ESPN digital platforms with your Hulu credentials).
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and if ABC is live in your market, you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app. If ABC isn’t live in your market, scroll down to the “ESPN Platforms” section to see where you can 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).
Although ABC isn’t technically part of the Sling TV package, you can sign up for a free 7-day trial of the “Sling Orange” bundle, which includes ESPN3, and you’ll then be able to watch a live stream of the game on the ESPN digital platforms (see next section).
ESPN Platforms
You can watch a live stream of the game on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Games on ABC (labeled as ESPN3) can be watched for free without cable if you have a participating internet service provider (ISP), but even if you don’t have a participating ISP, you can still sign use your Hulu or Sling TV (or other cable TV) credentials to sign in and watch the game on the ESPN digital platforms.
Preview
The Fighting Irish and Trojans will renew one of college football’s longest-running rivalries. This is the 90th meeting between the two programs, as Notre Dame leads the all-time series with a record of 47–37–5. Last year, Notre Dame handily beat USC in South Bend, 49-14.
If Notre Dame defeats USC, they are in the College Football Playoff. Following last week’s 36-3 one-sided victory at Yankee Stadium against Syracuse, head coach Brian Kelly reiterated that his team can only control so much, and that means focusing on USC first.
“I don’t know that, if we win our last game, that we’re going to the (playoff). But that’s not in our control. If we do a good job there and we win our game, then we would have won all of our games, and then we’ll let people decide who should go to the (playoff).”
If USC can find some way to do what no other team in college football has been able to do this season, they will become bowl eligible, although that probably isn’t good enough to save head coach Clay Helton’s job at this point.
It has been a tale of two different seasons for each team.
The Fighting Irish were supposed to be good, but probably not this good. In hindsight, Notre Dame‘s strength of schedule (wins against Michigan, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Northwestern and Syracuse on a neutral field) looks A LOT better currently than it did at the beginning of September, especially when the defense allows only 17.3 points per game, which ranks 15th in the nation heading into Saturday. The Trojans were likely to be good, but have severely disappointed, and that is on Helton.
The Fighting Irish also benefited from a notable quarterback change. Like Nick Saban went from Jalen Hurts to Tua Tugavailoa at Alabama, and like Dabo Swinney went from Kelly Bryant to Trevor Lawrence at Clemson, Kelly’s switch from senior Brandon Wimbush to junior ian Book has paid off immensely.
Book missed the win two weeks ago against Florida State, but he didn’t even need to play as the defense routed the Seminoles 42-13. Since becoming the starter, he has completed 72.6% of his passes for 2,116 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions.
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Notre Dame vs USC Live Stream: How to Watch Online Without Cable