The $12.99 Roadblock: Why You Can’t Just Turn On the TV to Watch Notre Dame Beat Purdue

There is a specific kind of melancholy that comes from watching college football in the Pacific Northwest, especially when the gear is as oddly specific as helmets featuring lit-up Virgin Mary statues. But for the No. 3 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the 2026 season has brought a logistical hurdle that has nothing to do with defense and everything to do with your streaming subscriptions. They face the Purdue Boilermakers in Week 4 of the college football season, and while the Irish are huge favorites, the broadcast situation is a bit of a headache for the average American sports fan.

The matchup takes place on Saturday, September 26 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Kickoff is set for a time that feels like a crime against the West Coast clock at 11 a.m. PT. If you were hoping to flip past the ESPN channel to catch a quick hour of game action, you are going to be disappointed. This game is not on a traditional television channel. Instead, it is streaming exclusively on Peacock.

Peacock is NBC’s relatively inexpensive streaming service, and it is the only place where the Fighting Irish can be viewed this week. You cannot watch this game on any standard cable package or network broadcast. To access the live stream, you will need to sign up for Peacock Premium, which costs $12.99 per month. The service is available on a computer, phone, tablet, or smart TV via the Peacock app. If you want to see Notre Dame take the field against the Boilermakers, you have to subscribe first.