How to watch today's Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide NCAA football game

Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the third quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 14, 2023 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Alex Slitz/Getty Images

The Tennessee Volunteers head to Tuscaloosa this weekend for a must-win game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Just the second road game of the Vols season, this is a game of two strong defenses and two develping quarterbacks in Joe Milton and Jalen Monroe.

Alabama came into the 2023 NCAA college football season all but written off. Endless "Nick Saban is so over" chatter dominated college football talk, and the Tide's early-season quarterback troubles made it seem like Saban and the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide football dynasty were actually over. Things look different for the Tide coming into Week 8. Saban has built the entire offense around Monroe, who's able to make big plays under pressure.

Last year's meeting between the Tide and the Vols was an epic 52-49 battle. The Vols haven't won in Tuscaloosa since 2003. If Saban has his way, he'll send the Vols packing again this year with a loss in hand.

When is the Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide game?

The Week 8 NCAA football game between Tennessee and Alabama will be played Saturday, October 21 at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m PT). You can watch the game on CBS, and stream it live on Paramount+.

Note: CBS Essentials and Paramount+ are both subsidiaries of Paramount.

How to watch the Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide NCAA college football game

While most cable packages include CBS, it's easy to watch the game if CBS isn't included in your cable TV subscription, or if you don't have cable at all. Your best options for watching are below. (Streaming options will require an internet provider.)

Stream the game on Paramount+

If you don't have a cable TV package that includes CBS, one of the easiest ways to catch all live NFL games broadcast on CBS is through a subscription to Paramount+. The streamer offers access to all NFL games locally and nationally televised on CBS on all its subscription tiers. In addition, you can watch top-tier soccer like the Champions League live and SEC college football games as well, plus popular shows such as "Survivor" and "NCIS."

Paramount+ costs $5.99 for the Essential tier (or $60 annually), and $11.99 per month (or $120 annually) for the ad-free Showtime tier that includes your local CBS station. Paramount+ currently offers a one-week free trial.

Start your Paramount+ free trial

Get Paramount+ as part of Walmart+

The Walmart+ shopping subscription service includes access to the Paramount+ Essentials tier (with live NFL games such as this one), a $60 per year value. Walmart+ subscribers also get discounts on gasoline at Mobil and Exxon stations, access to special members-only deals, same-day home delivery from your local store and more.

Walmart+ costs $98 per year. Tap the button below to learn all the benefits of Walmart+, and to start your 30-day free trial.

Why we like Walmart+:

Walmart+ members get access to this game through the Paramount+ streaming service.
You can get groceries delivered to your home quickly without paying Instacart-like markups.
Early access to Walmart's Black Friday deals reduces holiday shopping stress.
You can make returns from home -- Walmart will pick them up for you. (Restrictions apply; must be present for pickup.)

Start your Walmart+ free trial

Watch the Tennessee vs. Alabama game with FuboTV

You can also catch the game on FuboTV. FuboTV is a sports-centric streaming service that offers access to almost every NCAA college football and NFL game of the season. Packages include CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, NFL Network, NFL RedZone and more, so you'll be able to watch more than just today's games.

To watch the NFL without cable, start a seven-day free trial of Fubo. You can begin watching immediately on your TV, phone, tablet or computer. Fox, so you know, offers Sunday NFC games via "NFL on Fox"; while ESPN is the home of "Monday Night Football." ABC airs some "MNF" games, too.

In addition to NFL football, FuboTV offers MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international soccer games. FuboTV starts at $75 per month for the Pro tier (includes NFL Network); the $100 per month Ultimate tier includes NFL RedZone.

Top features of FuboTV:

The Pro tier includes 169 channels, including NFL Network; the Ultimate tier includes 289 channels, including NFL RedZone.
FuboTV includes all the channels you'll need to watch live sports, including CBS (not available through Sling TV).
All tiers come with 1,000 hours of DVR recording.

Start your FuboTV free trial

Watch the Tennessee vs. Alabama game on Hulu + Live TV

You can watch college football with Hulu + Live TV. The bundle features access to 90 channels, including both Fox and FS1. Unlimited DVR storage is also included. Watch every game on every network with Hulu + Live TV, plus catch live NFL preseason games, exclusive live regular season games, popular studio shows (including NFL Total Access and the Emmy-nominated show Good Morning Football) and lots more.

Hulu + Live TV comes bundled with ESPN+ and Disney+. It costs $77 per month.

$77 per month at Hulu

Watch NCAA football live with a digital HDTV antenna

If you're cutting the cord to your cable company, you're not alone; in fact, you are in luck. You can still watch the NFL on TV with an affordable indoor antenna, which pulls in local over-the-air HDYC channels such as CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, PBS and more. Here's the kicker: There's no monthly charge.

Anyone living in partially blocked-off area (those near mountains or first-floor apartments), a digital TV antenna may not pick up a good signal -- or any signal at all. But for many homes, a digital TV antenna provides a seriously inexpensive way to watch college football without paying a cable company. Indoor TV antennas can also provide some much-needed TV backup if a storm knocks out your cable (or your cable company gets in a squabble with a network).

This amplified HDTV antenna, claims to have a 50-mile range and offers 36 channels. It's rated 4.0 stars by Amazon reviewers.

Said one Amazon customer, "When the price of this antenna dropped to $50, it was competitively priced with what you would find on the shelves at your local Radio Shack. If you're considering this product, you're probably already questioning your cable television bill and are looking around for a cheap way to get the Big 3 plus Fox and PBS. This antenna delivered that for us right out of the box."

$60 at Amazon

More teams to follow during the 2023 college football season

Important dates for the 2023 college football season:

The 13-week 2023 college football season runs from Aug. 27 through Dec. 9.
Two semifinal games, the Rose Bowl Game and the Allstate Sugar Bowl, are scheduled for New Year's Day (Monday, January 1, 2024).
The College Football Playoff National Championship is scheduled for Monday, January 8, 2024 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

The Georgia Bulldogs want to make history: The Bulldogs struck gold last season when they won back-to-back national championships when they beat the Alabama Crimson Tide 33-18 in 2022. Since 1936, no college team has won three-in-a-row. The Bulldogs are hoping to change all that. Head coach Kirby Smart has focused on leadership skills for his players, stating the team's biggest opponent is "complacency." Coming into Week 8, the Bulldogs are undefeated. Three-peat? Anything's possible with this squad.

Football fans can't get enough of the Colorado Buffaloes: Coach Prime made headlines during the offseason. Only ten scholarship players from the Buffaloes' 2022-season roster remain on the team after Sanders took advantage of transfer portal rules to revamp the team's roster. Prime's in his first season as the Buffaloes coach and he'll hope to work the same magic on the Buffaloes program as he did in his successful three years at Jackson State. 4-4 coming into Week 8 after a disastrous 46-43 loss to Stanford last week, the Buffaloes have been criticized for having too much swagger. If anyone remembers Sanders' NFL and MLB careers, one knows you can never have too much swagger. This is the team to watch this season, winning or losing.

How will all the college football shake ups shake out? In July 2022, UCLA and USC finally agreed on something. The frenemy rivals would both leave the Pac-12 in favor of the Big Ten in 2024. This summer, Colorado announced it would return to the Big 12. Since then, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah have announced an exodus from the Pac-12 to the Big-12 at the end of the 2023 season. Washington and Oregon State are also ditching the Pac-12 for the Big 10 at the same time.

The school shuffling won't affect the 2023 season much, but expect journalists to talk about it to no end. With the Pac-12 currently down to just four teams for the 2024 season, the demise of the Pac-12 is sure to be one of the biggest stories of the season.

The Alabama Crimson Tide came into the 2023 season ranked No. 4. Saban and company aren't comfortable with the demotion. Still not the dominant Bama team fans have come to rely on, the Tide are hoping to be a major threat to the Bulldogs scoring that three-peat. Ohio State has arguably one of the best receiver rooms in college football led by the dazzling Marvin Harrison Jr. The Buckeyes are coming into Week 8 undefeated, just one win over the 6-1 Crimson Tide.