College Football Playoff Championship Open Thread

Oregon Ducks vs. Ohio State Buckeyes, 8:30 p.m. ET

Just because there isn't an SEC team in the national title game this year, it doesn't mean we don't care. Here's our preview post from earlier today for your reading pleasure. The latest odds have Oregon favored by either six or seven, depending on which is your favorite sports book.

Let's discuss the game and all of its media permutations tonight. Here are all of your viewing options, per ESPN:

ESPN: Traditional Broadcast

It's your standard football experience with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit doing the honors. Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi are the sideline reporters, while Tom Rinaldi's piano player is on call in case of emergency.

ESPN Radio: Traditional Broadcast

If you can't get to a TV or stream the game, good ol' radio has you covered with Mike Tirico, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe, Joe Schad, and rules guy Bill Lemonnier.

ESPN2: Film Room

If in doubt, go with this one. Chris Spielman—the best color guy in the business if you ask me—and Tom Luginbill are hosting with Dan Mullen, Pat Narduzzi, and Mike Riley breaking the game down as it happens.

ESPNU: ESPN Voices

I'm putting this here for the sake of completeness, but I'd skip it. It's a panel discussion of the game entirely made of people specifically not from the college football world. At the least, they'll have Jay Bilas, Aaron Boone, Julie Foudy, Barry Melrose, Mark Schlereth, and Mike Wilbon. Again: not recommended.

ESPNEWS: Off the Ball

This one could be of real interest too, as it's like a variation of Film Room. Bob Wischusen hosts, but Kevin Carter, Matt Millen, Jason Seahorn, Matt Stinchcomb, and Amani Toomer will break down the game with an eye on things happening away from the ball: offensive and defensive line battles, receiver and DB matchups, coaching strategy, and so forth. The only downside: you sometimes have to listen to Matt Millen and Jason Seahorn.

ESPN Classic: Sounds of the Game

This one is for you if you like the game atmosphere most of all. The only audio is going to come from 100 microphones throughout the stadium, meaning no talking heads will be talking over the game. It'll also feature the full halftime shows from the marching bands.

ESPN Goal Line: Command Center

This option will have a permanent split screen that will always show the game feed along with replays, the coaches, stats, and more.

ESPN Deportes: Spanish Language Broadcast

Si quieres el partido con español, va a ESPN Deportes.

ESPN3: Home Team Radio

The first of several streaming options, you can watch the game listening to the schools' home radio announcers if you're so inclined. There's one for Oregon and one for Ohio State.

ESPN3: SpiderCam

Want to see the whole game from the camera that flies around over the field? Here you go.

ESPN3: Student Section

This option promises camera shots of student-only sections along with the mascots, cheerleaders, bands, and "the most enthusiastic fans". The press release doesn't actually promise game footage on this stream, so I'd skip it.

ESPN3: Data Center

This stream will have a lot of overlays. They'll include "analytics" and "curated social media interaction". I'm can't imagine why this would be your first option, given that the social media crap will probably be more frequent than the data stuff, knowing ESPN.