Alabama and Georgia have been to the College Football Playoff before, in fact Alabama has been there virtually every year since the CFP started in 2014. Alabama has been in five of the seven National Championship games since the end of the BCS era, and have won the whole thing three times. They also have the most appearances, only missing out in the 2019 season. Georgia, meanwhile is only heading back for their second time. After losing to Alabama in the 2017 National Championship, they are looking to get another shot at Alabama this year, after losing to them in the SEC Championship in early December. Then we have Michigan and Cincinnati. This is the first appearance for both teams. For Michigan, they are looking to end their National Championship drought, with their last one being in 1997. Which was led by QB Brian Griese, and backup QB Tom Brady (now it’s kind of weird to hear that Tom Brady was a backup QB, given all his success in the NFL). And we can’t forget the 1997 Heisman winner, Charles Woodson was also on that team. For Michigan, this season has been a bit of a surprise, being the first team to start the season unranked and make it to the CFP. Then having beaten Ohio State – their arch rival – and then Iowa in the Big Ten Championship. Only to keep their two biggest rivals out of the CFP – Ohio State and Notre Dame at #5 and #6 respectively. Cincinnati broke a lot of barriers by getting into the CFP this year. Typically, teams in the Power 5 conferences – ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and the SEC) get in. Cincinnati is the first team to not be in any of those conferences and get in. With a perfect 13-0 record. They also beat Notre Dame, to keep them out of the CFP, which was a signature win. Whether you’re looking to watch Alabama and Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl at 3:30PM on December 31. Or looking to watch Michigan and Georgia in the Orange Bowl at 7:30PM on December 31. Here’s how you can watch both games.
How to watch the 2022 College Football Playoff Semifinals online
If you are a cord cutter and don’t have cable, there are a few options for watching the college football playoff semifinal games. It’s going to be broadcast on ESPN, (along with the National Championship on January 10, 2022) so essentially any streaming service that has ESPN will work. But which ones are the best?
Hulu Live TV
Hulu Live TV is a really great option for watching the 2022 College Football Playoff. It does come with a 7-day free trial and after that, it’ll cost you $69.99 per month. It is actually still one of the cheaper streaming services out there, considering how many channels it has. And the fact that it includes the Disney bundle – that’s Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ included for this price. You’ll also get your locals included with Hulu Live TV. Making it a really great option for a lot of people. Hulu Live TV also includes 50 hours of Cloud DVR with every account, and you can upgrade that to 200 hours.
YouTube TV
Price: $64.99 per month (after 7-day free trial)Channels: 85+, including ESPNPlatforms supported: Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Samsung, LG, HiSense or Vizio smart TVs, Chromecast, iOS and Android
YouTube TV is one of our favorite streaming TV services, and there’s two good reasons for that. It offers a ton of channels, and it also has unlimited cloud DVR space. So you can record as many shows and episodes as you want, without worrying about your DVR getting full. The service is steadily adding more channels to its offering, and with that does come price increases. But at $50 per month and over 70 channels, it is a pretty good value. And for those looking to watch the 2022 College Football Playoff, it does also include ESPN. As well as a number of other sports channels.
Sling TV
Sling TV is by far the cheapest option for watching the 2022 College Football Playoffs. You can get your first month for just $10 right now, and then it goes up to its regular price of $35. That’s not a bad price at all. ESPN is included in the Sling Orange plan, which does come with fewer channels. But it also comes with ESPN2 and ESPN3. Sling TV offers an a la carte experience for its channels. So you can add other add-ons to your account for less. Many of these are around $5 or $10 for a pretty decent amount of channels.
DIRECTV Stream
DIRECTV Stream is definitely not the most affordable streaming TV service on the market today. But it does offer something that others do not. And that is regional sports networks. So looking past the College Football Playoffs, if you want to watch your local teams (NBA, MLB and NHL), then you’re going to want to get DIRECTV Stream. But beware that the regional sports networks are only available on the $84.99/month plan. DIRECTV Stream does have ESPN so you can watch the semifinals on December 31, and the National Championship on January 10. And you can upgrade to unlimited cloud DVR storage.
Wrap Up
There’s a couple of firsts in the CFP this year. With Michigan making its first trip since the College Football Playoff started in 2014 and potentially their first National Championship since 1997. But Cincinatti is also the first team that is not in a Power 5 conference (that’d be the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC). In fact, they are in the AAC (American Athletic Conference) and is the only undefeated team in the CFP this year. The semifinals on December 31, and the national championship on January 10 are likely to be some of the most-watched games of the year. These are some of the many ways that you can watch the 2022 College Football Playoffs on ESPN.
