How to watch Miami vs. Ohio State in the CFP Cotton Bowl for free

After a weekend off, the College Football Playoff is back in action with four quarterfinal games over the next two days. First up: the Cotton Bowl, with No. 10 Miami facing off against the reigning national champs and No. 2-ranked Ohio State.

Today’s game marks the Buckeyes’ third consecutive Cotton Bowl. In last years’, they beat Texas in what was CFP semifinal on their way to the national championship game. Thanks to first-round bye this year, the Buckeyes haven’t played since the Big Ten Championship on Dec. 6; they lost to No. 1 Indiana for their only loss of the regular season.

Miami is playing in its first CFP this year and coming into today’s quarterfinal riding a five-game winning streak. The Hurricanes took down Texas A&M, 10-3, in the first round of the playoffs to advance into today’s Cotton Bowl.

Here’s how to tune in to the 2025 Cotton Bowl for free if you don’t have cable.

Miami vs. Ohio State Cotton Bowl start time:

Miami vs. Ohio State is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET tonight, Dec. 31.

How to watch the Cotton Bowl for free:

If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the Miami vs. Ohio State quarterfinal for free.

DIRECTV is our top pick for watching college football live for free — its five-day free trial includes ESPN (plus many of the other channels you’ll need for the College Football Playoff). When the trial is over, you’ll pay as low as $49.99/month and gain access to over 90 live channels.

If you aren’t ready to commit to a full-on subscription, you can try a Sling Orange Day Pass. Priced at $4.99, you’ll get 24 hours of access to all Sling TV Orange has to offer, including ESPN. Sling also offers weekend and week-long passes for its Orange plan, which offer between three and seven days of access.

College Football Playoff 2025-26 key dates

• Quarterfinals (Dec. 31 and Jan. 1)
  • Cotton Bowl (Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET) – No. 10 Miami vs. No. 2 Ohio State
  • Orange Bowl (Jan. 1, 12 p.m.) – No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech
  • Rose Bowl (Jan. 1, 4 p.m.) – No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 1 Indiana
  • Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1, 8 p.m.) – No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Georgia
• Semifinals (Jan. 8-9)
  • Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m.) – Ole Miss/Georgia vs. Miami/Ohio State
  • Peach Bowl (Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m.) – Oregon/Texas Tech vs. Alabama/Indiana
• National Championship (Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m.)

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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on all of the best deals to shop at Bath & Body Works, and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.

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