If you're sitting on your couch on a Sunday night in mid-January, scrolling through your guide and asking yourself is there a college football game on tv tonight, I have some news that might sting a bit. We are officially in the "dead zone." The lights have gone down on the 2025-2026 season.
The National Championship is over. The confetti has been swept up.
It's a weird feeling, right? For months, our internal clocks are set to the rhythm of Saturday tailgates and mid-week MACtion. Then, suddenly, the screen goes dark. But even though there isn't a live FBS game kicking off tonight, Sunday, January 18, 2026, the world of college football doesn't actually sleep. It just changes shape. Honestly, if you're a die-hard fan, this is actually one of the most chaotic—and important—times of the year for your favorite program.
Why the Schedule Looks Empty Right Now
The college football calendar is a brutal, front-loaded monster. We get spoiled from late August through early January. We have those glorious Saturdays where you can sit down at noon and not move until 1:00 AM. But the postseason structure is rigid. Once the College Football Playoff (CFP) wraps up, the NCAA doesn't just keep playing games for the sake of it.
Usually, by the third week of January, the only "football" you’re going to find on television is the NFL playoffs. Tonight is actually the Divisional Round of the NFL postseason. That is why college ball clears the schedule. They know better than to compete with the pros for eyeballs during the win-or-go-home weeks.
If you're looking for live action tonight, you'll likely find re-broadcasts. Check ESPNU or the SEC Network. They often run "Instant Classics" or marathons of the bowl season this time of year. It’s not live, but if you missed that triple-overtime thriller from three weeks ago, it’s a decent way to kill a Sunday evening.
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The Transfer Portal is the Real "Game" Tonight
Even if nobody is lining up on a gridiron, the "game" is happening on Twitter (X) and behind closed doors. We are currently in a window where the Transfer Portal is basically the Wild West.
Think about it this way: while you’re wondering if there’s a game on, your team’s starting quarterback might be taking an "unofficial visit" to a rival school three states away. The winter portal window usually stays active through early January, and the fallout from those moves is still being televised on sports news cycles like SportsCenter or College Football Live.
Understanding the 2026 Postseason Calendar
To never have to ask is there a college football game on tv tonight again, you kind of have to memorize the new rhythm of the 12-team playoff. It changed everything.
In the old days—well, a couple of years ago—the season ended much earlier. With the expanded playoff, the schedule now stretches deeper into January than ever before. We now have:
- First Round Games: Mid-December, usually played on campus sites.
- Quarterfinals: New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
- Semifinals: About a week later.
- The National Championship: Usually the second or third Monday of January.
Since today is Sunday, January 18, 2026, the title game happened just a few days ago. The sport is in a mandatory cooling-off period. Coaches are out on the recruiting trail. Players are hitting the weight room or declaring for the NFL Draft. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft usually hits right around now (typically mid-January), which is another reason why no games are scheduled. The rosters are in total flux.
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What about the "Other" Leagues?
You might occasionally see FCS, Division II, or Division III games on TV, but their seasons end even earlier than the FBS. The FCS Championship is typically played in Frisco, Texas, in early January. If you are desperate for live football that isn't the NFL, you’re basically waiting for the spring leagues like the UFL to kick off in a few months.
How to Find a Game During the Season
When the season is actually active, finding out if there is a game on tonight is a lot easier if you know where to look. Most people just Google it, but the results can be messy.
- The Monday Night Myth: College football almost never plays on Monday nights unless it is the National Championship or a very specific Labor Day season opener. If it’s a random Monday in October, the answer is almost always no.
- Thursday and Friday Night Lights: This is where the "tonight" question gets interesting. During the regular season (September–November), ESPN and FS1 have a death grip on Thursday and Friday nights. You'll see a lot of Mountain West, AAC, and Sun Belt action here.
- The MACtion Phenomenon: If you’re asking this question on a Tuesday or Wednesday in November, the answer is a resounding YES. The Mid-American Conference basically owns Tuesday nights. It’s glorious, weird, and usually involves a lot of snow in Ohio or Michigan.
What to Watch Tonight Instead
Since the live college scoreboard is all zeros, you have a few options to get your fix.
The Coaching Carousel Coverage
By mid-January, several high-profile programs are usually in the middle of messy divorces with their head coaches or looking for new coordinators. Programs like Alabama, Michigan, or Texas A&M have shown us in recent years that no seat is truly safe. Watching the "news" tonight is basically the soap opera version of the sport.
Rewatching the All-22 Film
If you’re a real nerd for the sport, tonight is a great time to head to YouTube. Channels like Lowell Galindo or various film-study accounts break down the National Championship footage. You’ll learn more about why a specific "split-safety" look worked than you ever would watching a live broadcast with 500 commercials.
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College Basketball
Let’s be real: this is where the TV money goes once football ends. Tonight’s TV schedule is likely dominated by Big Ten or Big 12 basketball matchups. It’s not a touchdown, but the atmosphere in places like Allen Fieldhouse or Cameron Indoor Stadium is the closest thing you’ll get to that college football Saturday energy.
Stop Checking the Guide and Start Checking the Calendar
The most common mistake fans make is forgetting how short the college football season actually is. It is roughly 15 weeks of bliss followed by 37 weeks of waiting.
If you want to be prepared for the 2026 kickoff, mark your calendar for late August. The "Week 0" games usually feature a few international matchups (like teams playing in Dublin, Ireland) or smaller conference games to whet our appetite.
Actionable Steps for the "Offseason" Fan
Since there isn't a game on tonight, here is how you can actually stay productive as a fan:
- Audit Your Subscriptions: If you only pay for Fubo or YouTube TV to watch college football, now is the time to pause those memberships and save about $75 a month until August.
- Follow Recruiting Hubs: Check out 247Sports or On3. Tonight is a massive night for "crystal ball" predictions for high school seniors who are about to sign their letters of intent in February.
- Check the Spring Game Schedule: In about six or seven weeks, teams will start spring practice. These "Spring Games" are often televised on conference networks (like the Longhorn Network or Big Ten Network) and are the first chance to see those new portal players in a real jersey.
The quest to find out if there is a college football game on TV tonight usually ends in a bit of heartbreak once January hits. But the sport doesn't end; it just moves to the recruiting trails and the film rooms. Put on the NFL playoffs, grab some wings, and start the countdown to August. It’ll be here faster than you think.