Getty Images Jaret Patterson of the Buffalo Bulls.
Buffalo and Ball State face off at Ford Field in Detroit on Friday with the MAC Championship on the line.
The game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN. But if you don’t have cable, here’s how to watch a live stream of Ball State vs Buffalo online for free:
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FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 100-plus other TV channels on FuboTV, which you can use for free with a seven-day trial right here:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Ball State vs Buffalo 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 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.
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo, which you can use for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch Ball State vs Buffalo live on the Vidgo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Vidgo 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 Vidgo credentials to do that.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which you can try out for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch Ball State vs Buffalo 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 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 ESPN and 30-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” bundle. It comes with a free three-day trial, but if you bypass that, you can get it for $20 for the first month (normally $30), and get Showtime, Starz, and Epix included for free:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch Ball State vs Buffalo 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 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 10 hours of cloud DVR.
Ball State vs Buffalo Preview
Buffalo is back in the MAC Championship game after a year away and the Bulls are riding high on the back of a perfect regular season and the nation’s top-ranked ground game.
Buffalo is averaging 344.2 rushing yards per game and are scoring 50.6 points per game — another number that is best in the nation. The Bulls are outscoring their opponents 126-48 the last two games alone.
“I’m extremely proud of our team. As we all know, it’s been a long eight, nine months for everybody,” Bulls head coach Lance Leipold said on Wednesday. “The ups and downs that our players have had all across the country and our conference had to go through…. to persevere through all that and then get a chance to play, and for us five games, I’m really proud of our guys and our staff. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to return to Detroit.”
Running back Jaret Patterson has been the workhorse for the Bulls, averaging 8.3 yards per carry and breaking the 1,000-yard mark despite playing in just five games. He’s also accounted for a whopping 18 touchdowns. Patterson has got help, with Kevin Marks Jr. notching 510 yards and 5 touchdowns. Marks has a 7.7 yards per carry average.
With such a strong ground game, quarterback Kyle Vantrease hasn’t exactly lit up the stat sheet, but he takes care of the ball, accounting for just one interception this season.
Ball State punched their ticket to the title game with a thrilling 30-27 comeback against Western Michigan last weekend, putting up 17 points in the fourth quarter to win the MAC West.
The Cardinals will be shorthanded for the title game, with leading rusher Caleb Huntley opting out. He accounted for 437 yards and 6 touchdowns this season.
“Caleb is a tremendous young man who has been selfless, hard-working and totally team-oriented since his arrival four years ago,” coach Mike Neu said in a statement. “He is a huge part of this senior class that has led the turnaround in our program and made Cardinals everywhere so proud. Caleb was on pace for a remarkable senior season before he was sidelined by injury, but his name will still go down in the record books among a distinguished line of running backs.”
Buffalo is a 13.5 point favorite for the matchup, with the total set at 67.5 points.