How to watch No. 10 Miami vs. No. 1 Indiana: 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship Game

There is only one game remaining in the 2025-26 college football season. On Monday, Jan. 19, the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers will take on the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Title Game. Indiana (15-0) is riding a historic season led by the program’s first-ever Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza. The ‘Canes (13-2) were the lowest-seeded at-large team to make the playoffs, but are looking to return to their former glory on top of the sport.

The primary broadcast will air on ESPN beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET, with alternate broadcasts on ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, and the ACC Network. ESPN Deportes will carry the Spanish-language broadcast. If you are looking for a live TV streaming service with the best mix of channels and price, we recommend streaming the game and the entire college football season with a subscription to Sling TV. You can also stream it on ESPN’s new standalone streaming service.

How to watch Indiana Hoosiers vs. Miami Hurricanes

• When: Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ACC Network, ESPN Deportes
• Stream: Watch with a subscription to Sling TV and ESPN Unlimited.
• From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.

Everything you need to know to stream Indiana vs. Miami

What alternate broadcasts will ESPN have for the College Football Playoff

As always, the ESPN family of networks will have the national championship game covered from all imaginable angles. There will be a total of 12 different ways that you can watch the game, either on ESPN’s cable channels or on its new, standalone streaming service.

So, if there is one specific way that you want to watch the game, or you like bouncing back and forth, here are the options you will have on Monday night.

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ESPN Unlimited

ESPN launched its highly anticipated direct-to-consumer streaming service on August 21, 2025. For the first time, this service gives sports fans access to its full lineup of linear channels without a traditional cable or satellite subscription.

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Subscribers can pay the $31.99 monthly fee for ESPN Unlimited, which unlocks all ESPN linear channels — including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN on ABC — plus ESPN+ and ESPN3, totaling around 47,000 live events each year. A subscription may be purchased monthly or annually.

ESPN+ content is available as part of an ESPN Ultimate subscription; those seeking only ESPN+ can subscribe to ESPN Select for $13.99 instead.

ESPN Unlimited offers extensive coverage of the NFL, NBA, MLB, college sports, UFC, soccer, tennis, and more, along with original programming, studio shows, and “30 for 30” documentaries. Starting in 2026, the platform will become the exclusive U.S. streaming home for WWE’s premium live events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble.

NFL Network and NFL RedZone are also included through an NFL-ESPN partnership, which adds draft coverage, preseason games, and NFL+ Premium features. The enhanced ESPN app will feature Multiview for watching multiple games simultaneously, real-time stats, betting and fantasy tools, personalized highlight reels, and even e-commerce options for tickets and merchandise.

On September 1, 2026, ESPN Unlimited prices were raised — barely a year after launch — from $13 to $14 per month for ESPN Select and from $30 to $32 for ESPN Unlimited.

Viewers can subscribe directly or bundle ESPN Unlimited with Disney+ and Hulu. With its robust live sports lineup, premium features, and the convenience of streaming anywhere, ESPN’s new service is a must-have for die-hard sports fans looking to cut the cord without sacrificing coverage.

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$31.99+ / month

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Watch a preview of Indiana vs. Miami

Why we recommend Sling TV to watch Indiana vs. Miami

Sling TV has long been one of our top choices for watching college football, thanks to its everyday low price and mix of channels — especially in larger markets. At just $46 per month, you can sign up for either the Sling Orange or Blue base plans, depending on which channel lineup makes the most sense for your viewing needs. In this case, Sling Orange would be your best bet to watch the Indiana vs. Miami game, since it is airing on ESPN. Of course, you could always get Sling Orange and Sling Blue for just $61 monthly and have access to all of the streamer’s base package channels.

Related: What’s the best way to watch 2025 College Football bowl games?

However, customers who don’t need a full month of Sling service can sign up to watch via Sling’s new Passes. Sling’s Day Pass will allow you to sign up for its Orange plan for one day for just $5. That means you can pay just $5 to watch the Utah vs. Nebraska game with Sling TV, which is far less than you’ll be asked to pay at other streaming services. That lower price and heightened flexibility are why we recommend Sling TV most highly for watching the entire 2025 college football season.

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Sling TV

Sling TV is The Streamable’s choice for cord-cutters on a budget. Sling is a live TV streaming service with multiple channel packages. The $45.99/month Sling Orange plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $45.99/month Sling Blue plan offers about 40 channels, including ABC, Fox, and NBC in major markets.

You can combine Orange+Blue for a total of $60.99 / month. Sling also offers many channel add-on packages starting at $6/month.

Save with Sling

$19.99+ / month

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Can you watch Indiana vs. Miami for free?

If you are just looking for a streaming service to watch this specific game and nothing else, there are options available for you. DIRECTV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV all offer free trials, but they vary in length, so be wary. DIRECTV’s industry-leading trial runs for five days, while Hulu + Live TV’s is a solid three days.

Those are pretty straightforward, but when it comes to the sports-minded streamer Fubo, things can get a little complicated. As The Streamable’s expert David Satin discovered when signing up for the services, figuring out how long Fubo’s trial is — even as you are signing up — can be a bit difficult. Nonetheless, it will be at least one day, with the potential to be as many as seven, depending on a wide range of factors that Fubo does not share publicly.

The YouTube TV trial is said to be “up to two weeks,” but can be as short as two days. So it is difficult to ascertain what you are actually getting before you go through the signup process.

If you are looking to watch the game for free, I would recommend DIRECTV, because that streamer has the longest guaranteed free trial and gives you the best channel options.

What are all of the streamers you can use to watch Indiana vs. Miami?

Fortunately for football fans, there are six different streaming services that will stream the game, so you have options to choose from if you don’t already subscribe to any of them. We discussed Sling and the free trial options above, but there is one more, and it offers a different type of streaming arrangement.

Ahead of the football season, the worldwide leader in sports launched a first-of-its-kind streaming service. The new standalone ESPN direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service is the home to everything available on ESPN’s linear channels — including the Indiana vs. Miami game — as well as everything that was previously found on ESPN+. The Unlimited tier of the service runs $30 per month, but is available in various bundles to make it even more affordable.

How to watch Indiana vs. Miami from anywhere

If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the game as you normally would, you can still catch all of the action, no matter where you are in the world, with a VPN. A VPN can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer and make you appear to be back home — even when you’re not — making sure you feel at home no matter where you are. A VPN is a safe and secure way to stay protected online while streaming your favorite sports, movies, and shows on the go. Keep in mind that you will still need to be subscribed to a live TV streaming like DIRECTV in order to stream the game with a VPN.

ExpressVPN is one of the best providers around, at one of the best prices. Currently, you can get a month of service for as little as $5. ExpressVPN is the most-trusted VPN on the market and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. ExpressVPN has servers in 105 countries, best-in-class encryption, 24-hour live support, and the best speeds available.

While ExpressVPN is our recommendation for the best VPN to use while you are traveling, there are a number of other high-quality options available depending on what you are looking for.

• Most Secure: NordVPN | Starting at $3.09 per month
• Best Budget Option: Surfshark | Starting at $2.50 per month
• Best Free Option: Proton VPN | Free plan available