Since 2014, college football has been holding an annual playoff to determine the year’s national champion. And while the playoff has been met with mixed reactions in that time, one of the biggest issues it’s faced is that it’s so limited, with just four teams eligible for the playoff and the opportunity to be national champion.
Washington vs. Texas
Date: January 1
Time: 8:45 p.m. ET
• U.S. channel — Watch on ESPN via Sling TV or Fubo
• Watch anywhere — try ExpressVPN 100% risk-free
Starting next year, however, all that will change, and the playoff field will expand to 12 teams. For now, though, we’re stuck with four. And two of those teams — Washington and Texas — will be among them when they face off at the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.
There’s plenty of drama surrounding this year’s Sugar Bowl. Washington and Texas both earned their spots by taking Pac-12 Conference and Big-12 Conference, respectively, but after Alabama beat Georgia to gain entrance into the playoffs, one team — Florida State — was left out. And plenty of people argued that one of these teams — Texas and Washington — should have been on the outside looking in.
But that hasn’t happened. And for the 90th annual Sugar Bowl, we can expect an exceptionally competitive game between two of the best teams in the country.
On one side, we have Washington, the third-ranked team in the country and arguably the favorite going into the game. Washington cruised to a Pac-12 victory over Oregon and has one of the most formidable offenses in college football. Texas, meanwhile, was ranked seventh earlier this month but soared to the third spot, earning its place in the playoffs. There are some who say Texas shouldn’t be in this game, but the Longhorns certainly disagree.
Whatever the case, the Sugar Bowl promises to be an outstanding display. And there’s a good chance this will be far more competitive than some folks may think.
Read on to learn more about how to watch the Sugar Bowl at 8:45 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day.
How to watch the 2024 Sugar Bowl from anywhere
If you're traveling on New Year's Day 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.
How to watch the Sugar Bowl in the U.S.
In the U.S., the Sugar Bowl will air live on ESPN. The network is readily available on cable and satellite networks, so if you have a subscription to one of them, you should be able to find it without issue.
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.
How to watch the Sugar Bowl in Canada
The Sugar Bowl won’t be available on cable or satellite in Canada, but since Fubo streams ESPN in Canada, you will be able to find it there.
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 Sugar Bowl in the UK
If you’re in the U.K., the Sugar Bowl 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 Sugar Bowl in Australia
The Australia-only Kayo will stream the Sugar Bowl live.
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.
