The 2018 national championship game will take place on Monday, January 8, 2018 with a kickoff time tentatively scheduled for 8:00 p.m. eastern. The game will feature the winners of the two playoff semifinal games scheduled for January 1, 2018. The two semifinal games are the Rose Bowl featuring Oklahoma vs. Georgia and the Sugar Bowl featuring Alabama vs. Clemson.

The national championship game will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 8. While the Mercedes-Benz Stadium is brand new, it’s already had a number of marquee games take place in just its first season as a college football venue. Alabama squared off against Florida State in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game to start the 2017 college football season (followed up days later with Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee).

Then, the SEC Championship Game played its first game in the new stadium (previously played in the Georgia Dome) during the first Saturday of December. Of course, Georgia defeated Auburn in the SEC Championship to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff and a Rose Bowl matchup against the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Sugar Bowl features a matchup we have gotten used to in recent years. For the third time in three years, Alabama and Clemson will square off in the playoff. While the previous two games were championship games, this time the two teams will meet in a semifinal matchup.

National Championship Game Time

The 2018 College Football Playoff is poised to be one of the best four-team tournaments yet in the still new playoff era of college football. In addition to the heavyweight matchup of Alabama vs. Clemson, this is the first year that we have two teams from the same conference entering the playoff field. Alabama and Georgia, both from the SEC enter the field in 2018.

Could we see an all-SEC national championship? It wouldn’t be the first time. Of course, the 2012 BCS Championship Game to conclude the 2011 college football season famously included LSU squaring off against Alabama. Many credit that game (and the backlash it received) as a pivotal moment which led to the collapse of the BCS system and brought the playoff era to the college football world. Some speculate that should both Alabama and Georgia make the 2018 national championship game, there might be a similar backlash that could lead to an expanded playoff field.

If you ask the Vegas betting books, this has a decent chance of happening. According to Vegasinsider.com at the time of writing, Georgia is a 2-point favorite over Oklahoma and Alabama is a 3-point favorite over Clemson.

National Championship Game TV Information

As with all the College Football Playoff games, ESPN has the broadcast rights for the national championship.

If history is a guide, ESPN will go all out and provide its typical “MegaCast” which enables viewers a myriad of options to watch the game through the many ESPN channels. The details for the national championship game will be released by ESPN a few days before the game.

Details for the MegaCast on Jan. 1 for the playoff semifinal games have already been announced.

  • The Rose Bowl will be broadcast on ESPN at 5:00 p.m. and include Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldo.
  • At 8:45 p.m., the Sugar Bowl will be broadcast on ESPN and include Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge.
  • The Coaches’ Film Room will air on ESPNNEWS and include CFB coaches such as Larry Fedora, Dino Babers, Matt Luke, Gary Patterson, Bret Bielema and more.
  • Finebaum Film Room will air on the SEC Network and include Paul Finebaum with a number of analysts and guests during the games.
  • The Command Center Telecast will air on ESPN2 and include a split-screen with multiple camera views displayed simultaneously. It also will include regular statistics and charts to pair with the footage of the game itself.

Interestingly, ESPN has also announced that they will be debuting the first ever first-down-marker cam at the Sugar Bowl which will provide yet another unique vantage point for the action on the field (the network has already tested the technology at this year’s Celebration Bowl).

Can you watch the National Championship Game online?

With the increased number of cord-cutters in today’s media consumption landscape, there are a number of ways to watch the national championship game online with nothing more than an internet hookup.

First, if you’re a subscriber to one of the skinny bundle services such as Sling or YouTube TV, you can watch ESPN directly through those outlets. Services such as YouTube TV provide a leaner cable bundle available through an internet hookup for a price typically lower than most traditional cable offerings. If you have an Apple TV or a Chromecast device, you can “cast” the game from your mobile device to your TV, and your guests won’t even know that the game is streaming via the internet (of course, make sure your internet and wifi connections are strong).

You can also watch the game online through the ESPN App and through the Watch ESPN portal.

With the buildup much in place, there’s only one thing left to see about the title game to conclude the 2017-2018 college football season. Who will be the participants? Will we see an all-SEC title game? Or, will the SEC teams get shut out of the championship game?

Regardless, enjoy the game! It’ll be the last college football we have for a while!