NCAA Division I FBS - 2025 season

icdg · 22-08-2025 08:50AM #1

The good news is that a new season of college football starts tomorrow. The bad news? We might not be able to watch much of it.

As of now, we are back in the situation from two years ago, where we have no UK/Ireland broadcaster for CFB, outside of Notre Dame home games on Sky. So to follow the season I guess it’s ESPN’s highlights on YouTube. The College Football Classic taking place in the Aviva tomorrow will have no broadcast in Ireland, which is not the first time this has happened, but I think the first time in a year other than when Fox selected it for Big Noon. That game is the highlight of week 0, featuring a Big 12 Conference game of No 17 Kansas St v No 22 Iowa St. Neither of these teams will be in CFP Championship Game contention, mind, but it is a great rivalry.

The preseason Top 10

No 1 Texas (SEC)

No 2 Penn St (Big 10)

No 3 OSU (Big 10 - outgoing CFP Champion)

No 4 Clemson (ACC)

No 5 Georgia (SEC)

No 6 Notre Dame (FBS Ind/ACC)

No 7 Oregon (Big 10)

No 8 Alabama (SEC)

No 9 LSU (SEC)

No 10 Miami FL (ACC)

selected others : No 11 Arizona State (Big 12), No 25 Boise State (MWC, best G5 team).

So yeah long story short, we can’t watch it at the moment. Except for Notre Dame at home. Hopefully that will get sorted at some point.

22-08-2025 09:08AM

This may be against the rules but then again the site I'm going to mention is the most popular video site on the planet.

Over the past few years I've been able to find games on straight up YouTube.

No VPN, no dodgy box, just YouTube.

The quality may not be great and sometimes the video will just be replaced by a standard YouTube "this broadcast has been removed for copyright infringement...' message, but they are there and watchable.

Not all games will be there but the big ones usually are.

22-08-2025 09:11AM

Kansas State v Iowa State is probably the most important college football game ever to be hosted in Ireland.

It's two equally matched teams and the outcome will have a big bearing on the Big 12 conference for the rest of the season.

icdg · 27-08-2025 06:40PM

A deal done, but maybe not the one people wanted or expected.

https://dazngroup.com/press-room/dazn-reaches-agreement-with-espn-for-u-s-college-football-and-basketball-rights-in-selected-territories-in-europe-and-mena/

Not clear yet if this is an add on sub (as most of Dazn’s new acquisitions seem to be these days) or included in the basic sub.

The good news is that it’s covering a lot more games than the three-four per (most) weeks we were getting in the last two seasons. The bad news it seems the Fox and CBS stuff still isn’t included.

Penn · 27-08-2025 06:47PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123759901#Comment_123759901

Don't think it's an add-on sub. There are 10 NCAA games showing up for me on DAZN for the upcoming weekend, none have the padlock icon on them (whereas there is a game listed from the ELF which I'm guessing is a European league and that one has the lock icon).

They're not in the NFL section though, you have to go to All Sports and then American Football.

This is class though. I was hoping to start following college football a bit this year but couldn't find many ways to watch.

el Fenomeno · 27-08-2025 06:51PM

If you have Game Pass on DAZN, do you need a separate subscription for the College Football?

Penn · 27-08-2025 06:56PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123759929#Comment_123759929

Not currently. It seems like the college football will be free for a limited time. Maybe they'll have it free this year or for the next few months to gauge interest so they can determine the price point. It's separate from the NFL Gamepass though (games are in a different section on DAZN).

Maybe next year they'll do some sort of bundle deals for NFL and NCAA.

icdg · 27-08-2025 11:23PM

I’m not sure, with GamePass they are effectively hosting the NFL’s product, not sure if they can mix it with other content.

Anyway, Week 1.

After a treat of a contest in the Aviva (at least according to the ESPN highlights!), the regular season gets under way properly. The game of the day goes out at Saturday 5pm, as No 1 Texas visit No 3 Ohio St, the outgoing champions (but not the No 1 in the AP Poll). Alas, that ones on Fox, and would never have been broadcast over here.

Dazn have ten games to enthral us though. The big game is the late Saturday game (12:30am) of No 9 LSU @ No 4 Clemson. If you can’t wait up for that, at 8:30pm there’s No 8 Alabama at FSU. The Seminoles implosion last year was one of the stories of last season. The Tide are expected to win that one well. Other game of interest include Friday 1am, Georgia Tech @ Colerado and the No 6 Irish kick off their schedule against No 10 Miami FL in the unusual-for-CFB Sunday 1:30am slot (SNF will reclaim it the following week…).

Glad a TV deal is done, and enjoy it while they are offering it for free, because they will be asking for money before too long, no doubt!

theoneeyedman · 28-08-2025 08:36AM

How is FREE defined as regards DAZN, is that free with a DAZN subscription, or actually free?

Penn · 28-08-2025 09:10AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123761093#Comment_123761093

Not so much that they'd mix the college football with the NFL Gamepass, more so that maybe if you're signing up to both for a year at the same time you might be offered a discount. Same way they offer discounts for Gamepass at various times. They'd both be kept separate but just a deal through DAZN for signing up to both. Might just be wishful thinking though.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123761445#Comment_123761445

DAZN does have some free content with no subscription required. Think you still have to sign up and make a DAZN account, but anything requiring a subscription has a lock icon on it, so you have to pay whatever subscription to access that. They've said the College Football is going to be free for a limited time, but how long that goes or how much a subscription will be (ie. will it be a direct DAZN subscription or a separate one) is still unknown.

28-08-2025 08:44PM

I love the Dr Pepper "draft slide"

https://youtu.be/OIiAqo20KLc?si=izpZy1uYaULGzUXX

icdg · 29-08-2025 07:21AM

Dazn seem to be offering last nights games in full on demand which is a brillant improvement over Sky - particularly later on when the postseason starts - I virtually never can watch the National Championship (or any prime time bowl) due to its 1:30am kick off and have been settling for Sky’s highlights.

No US adverts by the way, there’s a break filler. I can live with that!

For the moment no Dazn sub of any sort is required - create the account and go.

icdg · 30-08-2025 04:06PM

I find it funny, in the context of all I know about US sports broadcasting, that GameDay today is giving so much time to Texas @ OSU. Yes it’s absolutely the game of the day, and yes there’s the symmetry of it being where Lee Corso made his first headgear pick. But it’s also basically a three hour advert for a programme airing on a competiting channel. Quite magnanimous of ESPN!

rogeyspoint · 30-08-2025 04:56PM

Yeah, too true. Looking forward to the game.

30-08-2025 05:10PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123769352#Comment_123769352

Yea, I've noticed that for a long time.

For example if you watch an NFL game on Fox the announcers will tell you that such and such a game later is on CBS, or NBC or whatever, and name who will be in the booth for the broadcast.

Completely different over here.

I remember once during Euro 2008 Sky Sports News leading with cricket even though a huge Euro 2008 game just finished, all because they didn't have the rights to it.

Realt Dearg Sec · 30-08-2025 07:50PM

Arch Manning having a bit of a nightmare of a day really, lucky not to give away an int there a minute ago. You might say he's under way too much of a microscope with all the attention he got in the run up to it, and then you see this guy in commercials for sports wear at the ad breaks as well when he has yet to do anything in college football other than have a famous last name. He was being set up for a fall today.

Decent drive here, maybe he can change his fortunes here

Edit: nope.

icdg · 30-08-2025 09:08PM

That should see OSU back at No 1; I think…

Meanwhile the steam for Alabama @ FSU isn’t working for some reason. Marshall @ No 5 Georgia is, but I expect that to be a blowout.

Edit:Alabama-FSU finally comes on with the first quarter almost over.

rogeyspoint · 30-08-2025 10:03PM

FSU and Bama, good game so far. Impressed by FSU's variation in plays. 2 good run in TD's. FSU defense playing well too.

eagle eye · 30-08-2025 10:06PM

A large, dark shadow is appearing above Kalen DeBoer I think. He was given last year but losing to Florida State is a very bad start to the new season.

theoneeyedman · 30-08-2025 10:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123770376#Comment_123770376

Game was late starting as the preceeding game on ABC ran late. They still missed the start of it as you say.

30-08-2025 11:20PM

Huge stroke of luck there for Alabama with the punt being touched and then the PI call.

icdg · 31-08-2025 12:35AM

That is certainly a shock loss for Alabama. No 8 in the country against an FSU team that had only two wins last year (albeit that coming after their almost perfect 2023). In the 12-team playoff era one loss isn’t fatal but losing to unranked opposition is never good.

Fathom · 31-08-2025 01:15AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058422450/ncaa-division-i-fbs-2025-season

Watched UT Austin vs OSU today. UT should slip below their #1 ranking after the way they played today. May bump up OSU from #3 to 2 or 1?

OldRio · 31-08-2025 09:36PM

YouTube had numerous channels showing the games yesterday. Made for a very good Saturday.

icdg · 01-09-2025 06:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123770869#Comment_123770869

The thinking among some US writers is that the new “strength of schedule” metric demanded by the SEC (basically, to compensate SEC teams for having to play the likes of Georgia, Alabama, and yes, Texas) might see Texas retain the slot.

On the other hand Ohio State are the outgoing national champions and have just beat the No 1 team, so surely they have a good claim to be No 1?

theoneeyedman · 01-09-2025 07:44PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123776336#Comment_123776336

It's the one problem I'd have woth the College football, is rhw subjective rankings and the politics around it.

Strength of schedule is important as the season progresses, but for week 1? These are subjective, opinions based on scouting, money and signings, coaches and what???

There should be no rankings for the first month, they make SFA difference anyway.

icdg · 01-09-2025 09:21PM

The AP and coaches polls are completely unofficial of course, even if the AP poll at least is taken dead serious by everyone. The “official” CFP rankings don’t start till November.

eagle eye · 02-09-2025 01:26AM

Well if the rest of this game goes as the first 20 has then NC will be one of the favourites to win it all.

Offense looked very smooth and strong, defense looked very serious.

eagle eye · 02-09-2025 01:30AM

Three and out go the Tar heels on their second drive. Let's see how the defense gets on now.

eagle eye · 02-09-2025 01:37AM

Lovely td drive by TCU. We are all tied up at 7-7.

eagle eye · 02-09-2025 04:27AM

So after a good opening drive and opening defensive set by UNC, TCU grabbed the bull by the horns and dominated the game finishing up an impressive 48-14 winners.

NCAA Division I FBS - 2025 season

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