How to watch the 2024 College Football National Championship Game today: Michigan vs. Washington

J.J. McCarthy (9) of the Michigan Wolverines / Michael Penix Jr. #9 of the Washington Huskies
(Image credit: Getty Images)

It’s hard to believe we’re at the end of the college football season, but today is the day. At the very least, we’re being treated to what could become an all-time classic, with the Michigan Wolverines taking on the Washington Huskies tonight in the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

National Championship Streaming Details

CFP National Championship: Michigan vs. Washington
Date: Today (Jan. 8)
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
• U.S. channel —  Watch on ESPN via Sling TV or Fubo
 Watch anywhere — try ExpressVPN 100% risk-free 

This year, the Wolverines are coming into the National Championship Game as the top-rated team in the country. Michigan was able to stop Alabama in the final seconds of their Rose Bowl contest to advance to the National Championship Game. Now it's time to see if Jim Harbaugh can silence his critics and take his team to the top.

Meanwhile, Washington is trying to play spoiler. The team came out of nowhere this season to be one of the preeminent programs in the country. And with the Pac-12 ceasing to exist after Monday’s game, it would be poetic to see a team from that division take home a national championship at the end of its run.

Still, it won’t be easy for Washington as it tries to battle an outstanding Michigan team that can beat you both on offense and defense. Michigan has continued to be a strong team that can find ways to beat other programs and capitalize on mistakes. We can expect the very same during the national championship game.

Washington has similarly found ways to win this year. The team hasn’t always been perfect, but when it can play cohesively and get its offense and defense firing, there’s no stopping it — even if it’s facing a high-powered Michigan offense.

This year’s CFP National Championship Game could prove to be an all-time classic, with two teams that are well-matched and have the firepower to go toe-to-toe on the biggest stage. DraftKings has Michigan as 4.5-point favorites for this neutral-field showdown in Houston, but they expect it to be a relatively high-scoring affair. With an over/under set at 56.5 points, expect both teams to score a few touchdowns tonight.

So if you’re looking for a fun, must-see game, read on to find out how to watch the game when it airs at 7:30 p.m. ET tonight (Jan. 8).

How to watch the College Football National Championship Game from anywhere

If you're traveling and just can't seem to find any platform to watch the game on, you're not out of luck. With a virtual private network or VPN, you can appear to be surfing the web from your hometown (or somewhere that blackouts won't hit), and access the same streaming services you already paid for. 

Not sure which VPN is right for you? We've tested many different services and our pick for the best VPN overall is ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN offers superb speeds and excellent customer service, and there's even a 30-day money-back guarantee if you're not happy with it. 

ExpressVPN

We think speed, security and simplicity make ExpressVPN second to none. During our tests, we saw fast connection times, and we're impressed by the service's ability to access more than 3,000 services spread out across 160 locations in 94 countries. There's a 30-day money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied.

How to watch the College Football National Championship Game in the U.S.

In the U.S., the College Football National Championship Game will be airing live on ESPN, a network that is generally available on cable and satellite networks. So if you’d prefer to watch the game with your provider, you shouldn’t have any trouble.

ESPN will also stream the game from the ESPN app and the ESPN website, though on the latter, you’ll need to log in and authenticate your cable, satellite, or live TV provider.

You can also find ESPN on several streaming platforms, including Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV, Sling TV, and others.

Sling Orange, one of our favorite streaming platforms, offers 40 channels, including ESPN. And at $40 per month, it’s nicely affordable. Another favorite service of ours, Fubo, costs $75 per month and comes with 121 channels, including ESPN.

Get 50% off your first month of Sling TV
Cheaper Live TV

Get 50% off your first month of Sling TV
New and returning customers can sign up for either the Orange or Blue plan (or the combo plan) and save 50% off one of the best cable TV alternatives

Preferred partner (What does this mean?)

Fuboa 7-day free trial

Fubo is one of our top picks for watching college basketball and sports in general. Fubo has all of the right networks and the cable channels you don't want to go without. Who needs cable? Not Fubo subscribers. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay upfront.

How to watch the College Football National Championship Game in Canada

Canadian flag

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The College Football National Championship Game won’t be available on cable or satellite in Canada, but Fubo is available in Canada, making it a great option to stream the game.

If you're not a Fubo customer, you may want to opt for our favorite VPN service, ExpressVPN, which will allow you to access another streaming service to watch the games.

How to watch the College Football National Championship Game in the UK

British flag

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If you’re in the U.K., the College Football National Championship Game won’t be aired live, so you’ll need to opt for a VPN like ExpressVPN to access your streaming service and stream from afar.

How to watch the College Football National Championship Game in Australia

Australia flag

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Kayo, which is an Australia-only streaming service, will be streaming the College Football National Championship Game live. So if you happen to find yourself in Australia during the game, you’ll need to sign up for the service.

If you don't want to sign up for Kayo, you can log on to ExpressVPN and access your streaming service of choice from Australia.

Don Reisinger is CEO and founder of D2 Tech Agency. A communications strategist, consultant, and copywriter, Don has also written for many leading technology and business publications including CNET, Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, Forbes, Computerworld, Digital Trends, TechCrunch and Slashgear. He has also written for Tom's Guide for many years, contributing hundreds of articles on everything from phones to games to streaming and smart home.