Cotton Bowl Livestream: How To Watch Ohio State Vs. Texas Semifinal Football Game Online

Ohio State and Texas face off at the Cotton Bowl today in the College Football Playoff Semifinals. Here's everything you need to know for streaming the Cotton Bowl online for free.

The Ohio State vs. Texas semifinal college football game — aka the Cotton Bowl — kicks off Friday, Jan. 10, at 7:30/6:30c pm, and will be broadcast on ESPN. There are plenty of ways to watch ESPN online for free — you just need to find a platform that offers free trials. Below we've outlined all of the ways to watch the Cotton Bowl and listed which live-TV streaming services offer free trial periods for cost-free viewing. Using a free trial to watch the Cotton Bowl is your best way for watching Ohio State vs. Texas online free — simply cancel the subscription once the game is over!

Sling

Sling TV is one of the most affordable cord-cutting options for accessing ESPN. The service offers three subscriptions with different channel lineups, but we recommend the Sling Orange plan which starts at $45.99/month for and includes ESPN. With Sling, you can't watch the Oregon vs. Ohio State game for free since there's no free trial period. But if you act fast, you can subscribe to Sling for as little as $23 because the service is offering new users half off their first month! In terms of live-TV streaming services, this is the cheapest way to watch the Cotton Bowl online without cable.

• Free Trial: N/A
• Price: $45.99/month $23/month
• Device Availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Cox, Google Nest, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Samsung TV, TiVo, Vizio, Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox, Xfinity
• Channel Lineup: A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, BET, Bloomberg Television, Cartoon Network, Charge!, CNN, Comedy Central, Comet, Disney Channel, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Food Network, Freeform, Fuse, HGTV, History Channel, IFC, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Local Now, MGM+ Drive-In, MotorTrend, Nick Jr., QVC, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Vice

DirecTV Stream

DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial so you can watch the Ohio State vs. Texas football game online for free! We recommend signing up for the Choice package, which includes ESPN. DirecTV is offering $20 off this plan for your first three months, bringing the cost down to $94.99/month. The subscription will automatically renew at its regular price of $114.99/month. But remember, you can watch the Cotton Bowl for free with this plan if you cancel the subscription before the five-day trial ends.

• Free Trial: Five days
• Price: $114.99/month $94.99/month
• Device Availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung TV
• Channel Lineup: A&E, ACC Network, AccuWeather, AMC, Animal Planet, AXS TV, BabyFirst, BBC America, BET, Big Ten Network, Bloomberg Television, Boomerang, Bravo, Bounce, Cartoon Network, Cheddar News, Cleo TV, CMT, CNBC, CNBC World, CNN, CNN en Espanol, CNNi, Comedy Central, Comedy TV, Cooking Channel, Cozi TV, C-SPAN, C-SPAN2, Daystar HD, Discovery, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, Earthx TV, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, FanDuel TV, FMC, Food Network, Fox Business, Fox News, FS1, Fox Weather, Freeform, Fuse, FX, FXX, GAC Family, Galavision, Game Show, Get TV, Golf Channel, Great American Family, GRIT, Hallmark, Heroes & Icons, HGTV, HLN, HSN, IFC, ID, Ion, Jewelry Television, Jewish Life TV, Justice Central, Lifetime, Me TV, MLB Network, MotorTrend, MSNBC, MTV, MTV 2, National Geographic, NBA TV, Newsmax, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, OWN, Paramount, PBS Kids, Pop TV, QVC, QVC 2, QVC 3, Reelz, RFD TV, Science, SEC Network, Shop LC, Shorts TV, Sundance TV, SyFy, Tastemade, TBS, TCM, TeenNick, Tennis Channel, The First, The History Channel, The Weather Channel, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, TruTV, TV Land, TV One, TVG, UniMas, Univision, Up TV, USA, VH1, Vice, We TV

Fubo

Looking for how to watch the Cotton Bowl for free another way? Fubo has you covered. The live-TV streaming service offers new users a seven-day free trial and its Pro plan grants subscribers access to ESPN. You get over 175 other channels — including the NFL Network and the CBS Sports Network — for $79.99/month. The good news? You can cancel and change your plan at any time, making Fubo an easy and low-commitment way for watching the Cotton Bowl online for free.

• Free Trial: Seven days
• Price: $79.99/month
• Device Availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Hisense, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Vizio, Xbox
• Channel Lineup: ABC, ABC News Live, ACC Network, AccuWeather, Animal Planet, Bein Sports, Bein Sports 4, Bein sports 5, Bein Sports 6, Bein Sports 7, Bein Sports 8, BET, The Big Dish, Big Ten Network, Bloomberg TV, The Bob Ross Channel, Bounce, Bravo, CBS, CBS Sports Network, Cheddar, Cleo TV, CMT, CNBC, Comedy Central, Comet, Court TV, Cozi TV, Dark Matter TV, The Design Network, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Dove Channel, E!, EarthxTV, ESPN, ESPN2, Estrella TV, Fail Army, Food Network, Fox, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, Fox Soul, Fox Weather, FS1, FX2, Freeform, Fubo Movie Network, Fubo Sports Network, FX, FXM, FXX, FYI, Galavision, GetTV, Glory, Golf Channel, Great American Family, Grit, Gusto TV, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, INFAST, Insight TV, Investigation Discovery, ION, ION Mystery, ION Plus, JTV, Law & Crime, LiveNOW from Fox, Local Now, LX News, Magnolia Network, Marquee Sports Network, MotorTrend, MSNBC, MTV, National Geographic, NBC, NBC News Now, NBC Universo, New 12 New York, Newsmax TV, NEWSNATION, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Origins Sports Network, OWN, Oxygen, Pac 12 Networks, Paramount Network, Perfect Game, The Pet Collective, PFL, Pop TV, Popcornflix, QVC, Real Madrid TV, Scripps News, SEC Network, Smithsonian Channel, Speedvision, Swerve Sports, SYFY, Tastemade, Telemundo, The Weather Channel, TLC, Toon Goggles, Travel Channel, TUDN, TUDNxtra1, TUDNxtra10, TUDNxtra11, TUDNxtra2, TUDNxtra3, TUDNxtra4, TUDNxtra5, TUDNxtra6, TUDNxtra7, TUDNxtra8, TUDNxtra9, TV Land, TVG, Unimas, Universal Kids, Universo, Univision, USA, VH1, Women's Sports Network

Hulu + Live TV

The Hulu + Live TV subscription is a more expensive option for watching the Cotton Bowl without cable, ringing in at $82.99/month. With that being said, you get a lot of content with this bundle subscription. You gain access to the Hulu streaming library, ESPN, ESPN+ and Disney+. This is a comprehensive packing for addressing all you cord-cutter needs.

• Free Trial: N/A
• Price: $82.99/month
• Device Availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, iPhone, LG TV, Nintendo Switch, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung TV, Vizio Smart TV, Xbox
• Channel Lineup: A&E, ABC, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, BET, Big Ten Network, Bloomberg Television, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CBS, CBS News, CBS Sports Network, Cheddar News, CMT, CNBC, CNN, CNN International, Comedy Central, Comedy TV, Cozi TV, Crime+Investigation, CW, Dabl, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN College Extra, ESPNews, ESPNU, Food Network, FOX, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, Freeform, FS1, FS2, FX, FXM, FXX, FYI, Golf Channel, Hallmark, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, History, HLN, ID, Justice Central TV, Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, Localish, Military History Chanel, Motor Trend, MSNBC, MTV, NASA, Nat Geo Wild, National Geographic, NBC, NBC News Now, NBCLX, News Nation, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, OWN, Oxygen, Paramount Network, Pop, QVC, SEC Network, Smithsonian Channel, Start TV, SYFY, TBS, Telemundo, The Grio, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, TVLand, Universal Kids, USA, Vevo 80s, Vevo 90s, Vevo Country, Vevo Hip-Hop, Vevo Holiday, Vevo Pop, VH1, Vice, Weather Channel

The 2025 Cotton Bowl game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas Longhorns kicks off at 7:30 pm ET on Friday, Jan. 10. The Cotton Bowl winner will move on to the College Football Playoff National Championship, playing the winner of the Orange Bowl, either No. 6 Penn State or No. 7 Notre Dame, on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 pm on ESPN.

It looks like it's going to be a close one between No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Texas, with oddsmakers giving the Buckeyes a slight advantage in a -6 point spread.