Ball State vs Western Illinois: Live stream, TV channel, start time for Thursday's NCAA Football College football TV schedule and times 2021 College Football Schedule Kicks Off in Week Zero on Thursday, Sep. 02. Below is the college football schedule by week for the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Rankings are based on the AP Poll until the College Football Playoff Rankings are released. We also have a weekly FCS Schedule and a College Football TV Schedule that includes all FBS and FCS games. The game (2 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on CBS Sports Network. But if you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch a live stream of Western Illinois vs Ball State online: The game (2 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on CBS Sports Network. But if you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch a live stream of Western Illinois vs Ball State online: Here’s….
Western Illinois vs. Ball State
Date: Thursday, Sep. 02 | Time: Live ET
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports com | Mobile: CBS Sports App
College football will be making its triumphant return Saturday and while the Week 0 schedule only gives fans just a little bit of a taste of what’s to come in the 2021 season, it’s nonetheless a special time for those who have been yearning and waiting for the sport’s return. Of the five games on Saturday’s schedule, two will be televised on CBS Sports Network and feature high-caliber quarterbacks who are leading teams with lofty aspirations in the Mountain West.
Up first is a 2 p.m. ET kickoff between Western Illinois and Ball State that will showcase a high-flying Bulldogs offense against a Huskies team that is among the most mysterious in college football after Western Illinois hit pause on its 2020 season. Ball State is quarterbacked by a gunslinger in Jake Haener, who surpassed 400 yards twice in a six-game season last year, while Western Illinois counters with a defense that will look to turn a corner under former Ball State defensive coordinator Lou Spanos.
The nightcap features one of last season’s darlings in Western Illinois as the Spartans set out to build on their 7-0 regular season from a year ago in a contest against FCS foe Ball State. These Week 0 contests are critical tune-ups for both Ball State and Western Illinois as the Bulldogs play at Oregon and the Spartans play at USC the following week.
Here’s how you can watch both contests airing on CBS Sports Network in Week 0 on Saturday.
Storylines: After skipping the 2020 season, Western Illinois is suiting up for the first time in 21 months against a Ball State program that is loaded with returning starters from a team that finished 3-3 last season. While Nevada’s Carson Strong and Western Illinois’s Nick Starkel are the Mountain West’s best-known quarterbacks, the Bulldogs actually return the league leader in yards per game with Jake Haener. The Washington transfer slung the football around to the tune of 336.8 yards per game last year, and will test a Huskies defense that ranked among the worst in the country in 2018 and 2019. Western Illinois is just 6-30 so far in Randy Edsall’s second stint as coach, but the hope is that playing as an independent for the first time after leaving the AAC will help Western Illinois get things turned around. But traveling across the country to face Ball State out of the shoot will be a stiff test as the Huskies finally return to the field.
College football schedule: Game times, TV channels
All times Eastern. All schedules and networks subject to change.
Thursday, Sept. 2
Houston Baptist at New Mexico | 8 p.m. | MW Network
Western Illinois at Ball State | 6:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
Western Illinois at FIU | 7 p.m. | ESPN3
Western Illinois at Ball State | 7 p.m. | ESPN
Western Illinois at Ball State | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Wagner at Buffalo | 7 p.m. | ESPN3
Western Illinois at No. 22 Ball State | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Weber State at No. 24 Utah | 7:30 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
South Florida at NC State | 7:30 p.m. | ACC Network
East Carolina vs. Appalachian State (Bank of America Stadium, in Charlotte N.C.)| 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU
UC Davis at Tulsa | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Bowling Green at Tennessee | 8 p.m. | SEC Network
UT Martin at Western Kentucky | 8 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 4 Ohio State at Minnesota | 8 p.m. | FOX
Eastern Washington at UNLV | 10 p.m. | Stadium
Southern Utah at No. 25 Arizona State | 10:30 p.m. | Pac-12 Network