Time for the live stream of Michigan vs. Alabama. Everything kicks off at 5 p.m. ET when the Rose Bowl begins.

Let's start with Alabama. Throughout the college football season, it seemed unlikely that they would make the four-team playoff that would ultimately determine this year's national champion. Alabama played well all season, but it looked as if Georgia would be the SEC Champion. Then, earlier this month, Alabama surprised Georgia, 27-24. The College Football Playoff selection committee was faced with the dilemma of choosing undefeated Florida State or SEC champion Alabama. They ultimately chose the latter, sparking controversy throughout college football.

As a matter of fact, Alabama comes into this Michigan game as the underdog. But we have seen the tremendous resiliency of this team over the past year. And if any team can beat the nation's top football program, it is Alabama.

Meanwhile, Michigan State heads into the Rose Bowl with its own controversy after coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for three games following a Big Ten investigation that found that Michigan State engaged in "impermissible, multi-year personal scouting activities." Michigan State initially denied the allegations, but Harbaugh eventually accepted the sanctions and Michigan State withdrew its lawsuit.

Despite this, Michigan is the top-ranked team in the nation for a reason. So the question remains: can Michigan live up to its top ranking, or will Alabama and coach Nick Saban, who has been to countless big bowl games, shock the world again?

Currently, Michigan is favored by just -2 points according to DraftKings. Read on to find out how you can watch the game, which kicks off at 5 p.m. ET.

If you are traveling on New Year's Day and can't find a platform to watch the match, you are not out of luck. With a virtual private network or VPN, you can pretend you're surfing the web from your hometown (or anywhere else not hit by a power outage) and access the same streaming services you've already paid for.

Not sure which VPN is right for you? We tested a variety of services and chose ExpressVPN as the best VPN overall; ExpressVPN offers excellent speed, great customer service, and a 30-day money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied.

In the United States, the Rose Bowl is typically broadcast live on ESPN, a network available on cable and satellite networks. Therefore, if you wish to watch the game on your provider, this will not be a problem.

ESPN will also stream the games via the ESPN app and the ESPN website, but the latter requires you to log in and authenticate your cable, satellite, or live TV provider.

ESPN is also available on several streaming platforms, including Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV, and Sling TV.

One of our favorite streaming platforms, Sling Orange, offers 40 channels, including ESPN. And it's affordable at $40 per month. Our other favorite service, Fubo, costs $75/month and offers 121 channels, including ESPN.

While the Rose Bowl is not available on Canadian cable or satellite TV, Fubo is available in Canada, making it a great option for streaming the game.

If you are not a Fubo customer, you can choose ExpressVPN, our favorite VPN service, to access another streaming service to watch the game.

If you are in the UK, the Rose Bowl will not be broadcast live, so you will need to choose a VPN like ExpressVPN to access streaming services and stream from afar.

Kayo, an Australian-only streaming service, will broadcast the Rose Bowl live. Therefore, if you find yourself in Australia during the game, you will need to sign up for this service.

If you do not wish to sign up for Kayo, you can log on to ExpressVPN and access your preferred streaming service from Australia.