The plucky Bearcats stand before the mighty Crimson Tide in a David vs Goliath of a Cotton Bowl Classic. Read on as we explain how to get an Alabama vs Cincinnati live stream and watch the Cotton Bowl Classic online from anywhere.
No.1-seeded Bama are on course for their fourth national title of the college football playoff era, while No.4-seeded Cinci had never even made the playoffs before this year. Is there room for romance at this level of the game?
Date: Friday, December 31
Time: 3.30pm ET / 12.30pm PT / 8.30pm GMT / 7.30am AEDT
Venue: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TV channel and live stream: ESPN (via Sling TV discount or free fuboTV trial) | BT Sport (UK) | TSN (CA) | Kayo Sports FREE trial (AU)
Watch anywhere: try the world's no.1 VPN 100% risk-free
To say that the Crimson Tide have dominated the playoff era would be an understatement. They've won three out of seven championships – including a 52-24 blowout over the Buckeyes 12 months ago – and are looking to improve to a staggering four out of eight.
The Bearcats' key asset is their defense, which is statistically the fourth strongest in the country. However, their opponents come into this having put 41 points on the board against the No.1 D of Georgia.
There's a shot at the national title on the line, so follow our guide for how to watch the Cotton Bowl Classic online and get an Alabama vs Cincinnati live stream wherever you are in the world.
Alabama vs Cincinnati live stream on Sling TV
Stream Cotton Bowl Classic without cable with Sling TV
Get your first month for only $10 now. With the game being shown on ESPN today, cord cutters can watch with a Sling TV subscription. Sign up to Sling Orange now and shave a mighty $25 off the usual monthly price, while also scoring access to NFL Network, Fox, NBCSN, CNN, and 20+ more channels.
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How to watch Alabama vs Cincinnati from outside your country
If you've mismatched a holiday or you're away on business and you want to watch your country's coverage from abroad, then you'll need to use a VPN. This will help you dial in to a location back in your home country to avoid geo-blocks and regain access to the content and services you already pay for back home.
A VPN is generally perfect for this as it allows you to change your IP address so you appear to be in a completely different location when the big game is on.
Use a VPN for an Alabama vs Cincinnati live stream from anywhere
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Once you’ve chosen and installed your VPN of choice, simply open the service’s corresponding app, hit ‘choose location’, select the appropriate country, and you’ll be able to watch the broadcast as if you were back at home.
Alabama vs Cincinnati live stream: how to watch Cotton Bowl Classic in the US
The Cotton Bowl Classic game between Alabama Crimson Tide and Cincinnati Bearcats is being shown on ESPN.
Kick-off is scheduled for 3.30pm ET / 12.30pm PT, and if you have the channel as part of your cable package, you can also live stream the game directly through the ESPN website.
How to watch Cotton Bowl Classic FREE without cable
If you haven’t got ESPN, you’ll need an over-the-top streaming service that includes it, and great-value Sling TV is the obvious starting point for football fans.
Its Orange package offers ESPN 1, 2 and 3, plus a handful of other top premium channels like TNT, AMC, TBS, BBC America and more, for just $35 a month. But right now you can get a whole month of Sling Blue for $10.
An extra $15 a month for the combined Sling Blue + Orange bundle adds access to local NBC/NBCSN and Fox channels in most major markets, as well as NFL Network, thereby covering off a large number of college football and NFL games including both primetime and local broadcasts.
The costlier but even more thorough alternative is to get a FuboTV plan. Its standard plan costs $64.99 per month and includes ABC, ESPN, Fox, CBS, NBC and the NFL Network – all the channels you need to tune into every nationally televised NFL game in the 2021/22 regular season, plus loads of college football.
You also get the benefit of the fact that fuboTV has a FREE trial.
Alabama vs Cincinnati live stream: how to watch Cotton Bowl Classic online in the UK
College football fans based in the UK can watch the Cotton Bowl Classic on BT Sport.
The game gets underway at 7.30pm GMT on Friday evening – perfect to get you in the mood for the New Year’s celebrations.
Don’t forget that BT now has a £25 Monthly Pass, so you can get everything BT Sport has to offer, including Champions League football and UFC, without a long-term commitment.
The BT Sport app will let subscribers watch the Cotton Bowl Classic on any number of devices, including mobiles, tablets, consoles and smart TVs.
How to watch Alabama vs Cincinnati: live stream Cotton Bowl Classic in Canada
In Canada, you can watch the Cotton Bowl Classic on TSN, with coverage starting at 3pm ET / 12pm PT, ahead of kick-off at 3.30pm ET / 12.30pm PT.
If you get TSN as part of your cable deal, you’ll just be able to log in with the details of your provider and get access to an Alabama vs Cincinnati live stream.
If you don’t have cable, then you can subscribe to TSN on a streaming-only basis from just CA$4.99 a day or (much better value) $19.99 a month – and don’t forget
the network shows loads of NFL action too.
If you decide to subscribe or already have, remember you can take your favorite sports streaming service with you wherever you go – just try our No. 1 overall rated VPN 100% risk-free for 30-days and follow the instructions above.
How to watch Alabama vs Cincinnati FREE: live stream college football in Australia
For Aussie viewers, the Cotton Bowl Classic kicks off at 7.30am AEDT on New Year’s Day.
ESPN, available through Foxtel, is showing the game, and you can also stream it on your laptop or mobile using the Foxtel Go app.
Streaming service Kayo Sports is showing the Cotton Bowl Classic game too, and is the ideal option for those who don’t want the commitment of a lengthy (and pricey) contract.
Kayo lets you stream on two devices with its $25 per month Basic plan, and on three devices with its $35 Premium plan, and both come with a FREE 14-day trial.
Not in Australia right now? Use a VPN if you’re away from home, in order to tap into your domestic coverage.
