Essentials

This game is loaded: How to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

By Meredith Gordon, Fox Van Allen

Edited By Leslie Gornstein, Fox Van Allen

September 21, 2023 / 3:24 PM EDT / Essentials

CBS Essentials is created independently of the CBS News editorial staff. We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms.

When No. 6 Ohio State at No. 9 Notre Dame square off this Saturday, the Fighting Irish face one of the best wide receiver and running back squads in college football. But the Buckeyes shouldn't assume a win, as this redux of last season's 21-10 victory for the Buckeyes promises to be anything but a cakewalk for either side.

Expect a dogfight between two of the most storied programs in college football during this packed Week 4 schedule.

How to watch the Ohio State vs. Notre Dame NCAA college football game

The Buckeyes vs. Fighting Irish game will be played Saturday, Sept. 23 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m.PT). It will air on NBC, which is included in most cable packages. If you don't have cable, you can stream the game live on Peacock.

Watch the Ohio State vs. Notre Dame game on Peacock

Peacock offers its subscribers live streaming access to NCAA football games that air on NBC, including today's matchup and future NCAA college football games. The streaming service has plenty more live sports to offer, including Big Ten football, Premier League soccer and WWE wrestling (including formerly PPV-only events such as Wrestlemania). There's 80,000 hours worth of recorded content to watch as well, including hit movies and TV series such as "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation."

A Peacock subscription costs $6 per month. An annual plan is available for $60 per year. You can cancel anytime.

Top features of Peacock:

If you only want to watch this game, it's your least expensive option. If you want to watch stream NFL games on other networks, there are better choices below.
Peacock features plenty of current and classic NBC and Bravo TV shows.

$6 per month at Peacock

Stream the game on Sling TV for half price

NBC is included in most cable TV packages. If you have don't have cable TV that includes NBC, ABC, Fox or ESPN, one of the most cost-effective ways to stream live NCAA college football and NFL football this year is through a subscription to Sling TV. The streamer offers access to the NFL Network, local NBC, Fox and ABC affiliates (where available) and ESPN with its Orange + Blue Tier plan. Also worth noting: Sling TV comes with 50 hours of cloud-based DVR recording space included, perfect for recording all the season's top NFL matchups.

That plan normally costs $60 per month, but the streamer is currently offering a 50% off promotion for your first month, so you'll pay just $30. You can learn more by tapping the button below.

Top features of Sling TV Orange + Blue tier:

There are 46 channels to watch in total, including local NBC, Fox and ABC affiliates (where available).
You get access to most local NFL games and nationally broadcast games at the lowest price.
All subscription tiers include 50 hours of cloud-based DVR storage.

$30 (first month)

Upgrade to Sling TV's Sports Extra package

Sling TV has a new offering for the 2023 NCAA college football season and the 2023 NFL Season called Sports Extra. This souped-up package is designed for NFL and college football super-fans, with access to NFL Redzone, ESPN, NFL, SEC, ACC, PAC 12, Big10 and Longhorn Networks.

There's a great preseason deal on Sling TV Sports Extra going on right now: You can get five months of Sling TV Orange + Blue + Sports Extra for $274. That works out to just $55 per month, an even better price than subscribing to just the $60 per month Orange + Blue plan. It's the most cost effective way to stream most NFL games this year.

You can learn more about Sling TV and Sports Extra by tapping the button below.

Upgrade to Sling TV Sports Extra

Watch the Ohio State vs. Notre Dame game with FuboTV

You can also catch the game on FuboTV. FuboTV is a sports-centric streaming service that offers access to almost every NFL game of the season. Packages include CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, NFL Network, NFL RedZone and more, so you'll be able to watch more than just today's games.

To watch college football without cable, start a seven-day free trial of Fubo. You can begin watching immediately on your TV, phone, tablet or computer. Fox, so you know, offers Big Ten games via "Fox College Football", airing predominately on Saturdays at noon E.T., while ESPN, ABC and CBS are the home of SEC games.

In addition to NCAA football and NFL football, FuboTV offers MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international soccer games. FuboTV starts at $75 per month for the Pro tier (includes NFL Network); the $100 per month Ultimate tier includes NFL RedZone.

Top features of FuboTV:

The Pro tier includes 169 channels, including NFL Network; the Ultimate tier includes 289 channels, including NFL RedZone.
FuboTV includes all the channels you'll need to watch live sports, including CBS (not available through Sling TV).
All tiers come with 1,000 hours of DVR recording.

Start your FuboTV free trial

Watch the Buckeyes vs. Fighting Irish game on Hulu + Live TV

You can watch the NFL, including the NFL Network, with Hulu + Live TV. The bundle features access to 90 channels, including both Fox and FS1. Unlimited DVR storage is also included. Watch every game on every network with Hulu + Live TV, plus catch live NFL preseason games, exclusive live regular season games, popular studio shows (including NFL Total Access and the Emmy-nominated show Good Morning Football) and lots more.

Hulu + Live TV comes bundled with ESPN+ and Disney+ for $70 per month.

$$70 per month at Hulu

Watch NCAA football live with a digital HDTV antenna

If you're cutting the cord to your cable company, you're not alone; in fact, you are in luck. You can still watch the NFL on TV with an affordable indoor antenna, which pulls in local over-the-air HDYC channels such as CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and PBS. Here's the kicker: There's no monthly charge.

Anyone living in partially blocked-off area (those near mountains or first-floor apartments), a digital TV antenna may not pick up a good signal – or any signal at all. But for many homes, a digital TV antenna provides a seriously inexpensive way to watch college football without paying a staggering monthly fee. Indoor TV antennas can also provide some much-needed TV backup if a storm knocks out your cable (or your cable company gets in a squabble with a network).

This amplified HDTV antenna, claims to have a 50-mile range and offers 36 channels. It's rated 4.0 stars by Amazon reviewers.

Said one Amazon customer, "When the price of this antenna dropped to $50, it was competitively priced with what you would find on the shelves at your local Radio Shack. If you're considering this product, you're probably already questioning your cable television bill and are looking around for a cheap way to get the Big 3 plus Fox and PBS. This antenna delivered that for us right out of the box."

$$58 at Amazon

More teams to follow during the 2023 college football season

The Georgia Bulldogs want to run it back. The Georgia Bulldogs became just the fifth program to win back-to-back national championships when they beat the Alabama Crimson Tide 33-18 in 2022. Since 1936, no college team has won three-in-a-row. The Bulldogs are hoping to change all that. Head coach Kirby Smart has focused on leadership skills for his players, stating the team's biggest opponent is "complacency."

Can Deion Sanders make the Colorado Buffaloes great? Coach Prime made headlines during the offseason. Only ten scholarship players from the Buffaloes' 2022-season roster remain on the team after Sanders took advantage of transfer portal rules to revamp the team's roster. Prime's in his first season as the Buffaloes coach and he'll hope to work the same magic on the Buffaloes program as he did in his successful three years at Jackson State. But the lights of the Pac-12 shine brighter than they do in the FCS and Sanders will have to rise to the occasion. Good news for Sanders, the Buffs finished 1-11 last season. There's only one way to go but up.

Important dates for the 2023 college football season:

The 13-week 2023 college football season runs from Aug. 27 through Dec. 9.
Two semifinal games, the Rose Bowl Game and the Allstate Sugar Bowl, are scheduled for New Year's Day (Monday, January 1, 2024).
The College Football Playoff National Championship is scheduled for Monday, January 8, 2024 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

How will all the college football shake ups shake out?

In July 2022, UCLA and USC finally agreed on something. The frenemy rivals would both leave the Pac-12 in favor of the Big Ten in 2024. This summer, Colorado announced it would return to the Big 12. Since then, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah have announced an exodus from the Pac-12 to the Big-12 at the end of the 2023 season. Washington and Oregon State are also ditching the Pac-12 for the Big 10 at the same time.

The school shuffling won't affect the 2023 season much, but expect journalists to talk about it to no end. With the Pac-12 currently down to just four teams for the 2024 season, the demise of the Pac-12 is sure to be one of the biggest stories of the season.