College Football 2025: How To Watch Thursday Night Games Online For Just $5

College football season is officially starting Week 1! Here's how to stream the first Thursday night games of the 2025 season on Sling.

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The first Thursday night college football game of the season will see Boise State take on South Florida. The game kicks off at 5:30 pm ET and will be televised on ESPN. But there's a whole slate of Thursday games, running through the 9 pm matchup on BIG 10 Network between Miami (Ohio) and Wisconsin. Televised games will also be broadcast on ACC Network, ESPN U, SEC Network and FS1.

If you're a cord-cutter hoping to catch one — or several! — of Thursday's games, keep scrolling for how to stream college football via Sling.

If you're hoping to stream all the on-field action, you'll need to sign up for a live-TV streaming service. We recommend trying out Sling since it's the most affordable and customizable live-TV streaming service on the market. Below, we're outlining which plans you can sign up for to livestream Thursday games.

The cheapest way to watch some Thursday games, including the Boise State vs. South Florida matchup, is by signing up for a short-term streaming pass. Passes by Sling grant users temporary access to the Sling Orange plan, which includes popular channels such as ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, TNT, A&E, TBS, Disney Channel, Comedy Central, History Channel and CNN. There are three passes customers can choose from:

• Day Pass ($4.99): Get 24-hour access for key games, award shows or movie night.
• Weekend Pass ($9.99): Get access from Friday to Sunday to watch college football or TV marathons all weekend long.
• Week Pass ($14.99): Get seven days of streaming to access week-long tournaments or live-TV streaming on the go.

Once you select a streaming pass, you can add on the Sports Extra for an additional fee — the price varies depending on the pass you choose — which will grant you access to Thursday games televised on ACC Network, ESPNU and SEC Network.

If you're looking for a longer-term streaming solution, you can opt for the full monthly subscription of Sling Orange. The monthly plan offers the same channels mentioned above, which includes ESPN for streaming the first Thursday college football game. The monthly plan stars at $45.99/month, which is extremely affordable if you're looking for a long-term cable replacement.

If you're looking for even more channel offerings to nearly replace cable, you can opt for the Sling Orange & Blue plan. Though it's the most expensive option, it offers the most robust network lineup, with all the Sling Blue and Sling Orange channels available in one single plan. This combination package starts at $65.99/month, and grants you access to college football networks such as ESPN and FS1. If you add the Sports Extra to a Sling combination plan, you not only gain access to the aforementioned sports channels, but also the BIG 10 Network. (Yes, the Sports Extra offers different channels based on which base package you choose.)

Below is the complete TV schedule for the Week 1 Thursday games. (Keep in mind, there are additional games being played that are not being broadcast on TV.)

• 5:30 pm: Boise State vs. South Florida (ESPN)
• 6 pm: Ohio vs. Rutgers (BIG 10 Network)
• 7 pm: East Carolina vs. North Carolina State (ACC Network)
• 7 pm: Towson vs. Norfolk State (ESPN U)
• 7:30 pm: Central Arkansas vs. Missouri (SEC Network)
• 8 pm: Buffalo vs. Minnesota (FS1)
• 9 pm: Nebraska vs. Cincinnati (ESPN)
• 9 pm: Miami (Ohio) vs. Wisconsin (BIG 10 Network)