College football is finally back, but for some fans, watching the action proved to be quite difficult on Saturday afternoon and evening.
The 2026 season officially got underway with Week 0 action today, featuring eight FBS games. While the return of college football brought plenty of excitement, technical problems with the ESPN app quickly became a major talking point.
Issues With ESPN’s App Frustrate College Football Fans
Complaints about the ESPN app peaked at 12:11 p.m. ET on Down Detector, which is when North Carolina and TCU were playing on the network. However, there were complaints filed throughout the afternoon and evening.
As fans tried to follow the opening games, complaints about the ESPN app began popping up across social media. Some viewers complained about videos failing to load, while others said they were unable to access scores and other game information.
For fans relying on streaming to watch games, these issues can be especially frustrating. When a matchup is exclusively available through a streaming service, there is often no traditional broadcast option to fall back on if the app stops working.
The problems quickly led to a wave of criticism from college football fans.
One fan didn’t hold back, writing, “ESPN has the worst app of any major company.”
ESPN has the worst app of any major company
— right fielder (@crosstownmeat0) August 29, 2026
Another viewer shared a screenshot showing an “Unable to Play Video” message and wrote, “Every single time I try to watch on @espn this app is a joke.”
Every single time I try to watch on @espn this app is a joke pic.twitter.com/V330VGdAya
— Patheticgator (@FourrouxNoah) August 29, 2026
One commenter wrote, “You know it’s CFB season when the @espn app is [expletive] the bed again.”
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Another fan made a similar observation, saying, “College football is back, which means the espn app is no longer functional when looking at cfb scores for the next 5 months.”
Some fans also criticized ESPN’s decision to push viewers toward its app. One wrote, “The best part of ESPN taking the bottom ticker off the screen is they’re trying to force you to use their app. The app that’s so dog [expletive] people actively have 1-2 replacement apps that work better than the ESPN app lol.”
One NC State writer looked on the bright side, as his issues with the ESPN app kept him from watching the team’s 34-8 blowout loss against Virginia.
“Not even upset that my ESPN app ain’t working right now. Can’t see the State game,” they wrote.
Not even upset that my ESPN app ain’t working right now. Can’t see the State game.
— RED BRICKS (@RedBricksNCSU) August 29, 2026
Despite the technical issues, the Week 0 games provided plenty of action.
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North Carolina opened the season with a 15-10 victory over TCU in Dublin, Ireland. USC also picked up a win, defeating San Jose State 42-26 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Meanwhile, Virginia cruised past NC State 34-8 at Scott Stadium.
For fans, the return of college football was ultimately a welcome sight. However, if ESPN’s app problems persist, the network may have another headache as the season progresses.
