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The 2019 college football season begins a week early with the renewal of an in-state rivalry that began 81 years ago, as the No. 8 Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes meet in Orlando on Saturday night.
The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV Stick or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
Hulu With Live TV comes with Hulu’s extensive on-demand library of TV shows and movies and 60-plus live TV channels, including ESPN and every other channel that will have Miami and Florida football games this season.
You can sign up for Hulu with Live TV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app. You can also watch the game on the ESPN app if you sign in using your Hulu credentials.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” bundle comes with 25-plus live TV channels, including ESPN.
You can start a free seven-day trial of Sling TV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app. You can also watch the game on the ESPN app if you sign in using your Sling TV credentials.
If you can’t watch live, cloud DVR is available as an add-on.
YouTube TV comes with 70-plus live TV channels, including ESPN.
You can sign up for YouTube TV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the YouTube website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or other compatible streaming device via the YouTube app. You can also watch the game on the ESPN app if you sign in using your YouTube TV credentials.
If you can’t watch live, YouTube TV comes with included DVR.
Miami vs Florida Preview
The 2010’s haven’t been all that kind to these storied programs. Florida has managed three double-digit win seasons since the turn of the decade but has often played below expectations, while Miami’s best finish following the Larry Coker Era has been 13th.
But with just one season left until we turn the corner for the ’20s, both teams appear to be on the way back up.
For the Gators, their first year under Dan Mullen–which included four straight wins to end the season and a thumping of Michigan in the Peach Bowl–marked their best finish (7th) since 2009. Now, a lot of the main pieces from last year’s squad, including quarterback Feleipe Frank, are back and expectations are sky-high in Gainseville.
The Hurricanes had pretty much the opposite sort of season in 2018. They began the year ranked No. 8 in preseason, then lost to LSU in their opener, had a stretch where they dropped four straight, were blasted by Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl and finished 7-6. Still, they’re only two years removed from a 10-3 season, the defense remains one of the best in the country, and a new head coach and new quarterback pave the way for a quick bounce-back in 2019.
Speaking of the latter, Miami’s QB battle was one of college football’s biggest storylines of the offseason. High-profile Ohio State transfer Tate Martell was expected to win the job, but it was instead Jarren Williams beating out Martell and N’Kosi Perry.
And since being named starter, Williams has invoked the confidence of his teammates.
“He’s being a commander. He holds the huddle,” said center Corey Gaynor. “Just, say, if a lineman would miss a block, he would check them and be like, ‘That’s not our standard,’ and we’d re-run the play because that’s not what we do here.”
Miami’s quarterback play was atrocious last year, wasting another good season from their defense. But that defensive unit should again be strong, meaning that if Williams can just provide some stability under center, the Hurricanes are looking at an improvement.
In his first start, however, Williams will get an extra difficult test. The Gators lost three defensive players to the NFL, but they still return eight starters on that side of the ball, and they know how to make things uncomfortable for opposing quarterbacks–last year, they finished 15th in the country in sack percentage and 18th in takeaways per game.
The Gators are favored by seven in this one.
Florida and Miami have gone head-to-head 55 times, with the Hurricanes holding a narrow advantage at 29-26 in those contests.