Can confirm that we have the toughest schedule in the country: https://herosports.com/fcs/football-2019-toughest-schedules-bzbz
Edit: UNI comes in at number 4 so they might be the first team to get in the playoffs with a sub 500 record
Looks like this preseason game is not on ESPN+ but it does appear there is a live stream link on their website: https://www.bluebombers.com/live-stream
John can call hockey a niche sport all he wants but the fact is the game is expanding. NHL adding teams and youth programs cropping up in warm weather states tells me otherwise.
Article from January confirming that ESPN networks will air 20 games and ESPN+ will stream them all. I look forward to following Winnipeg this summer!
https://www.cfl.ca/2019/01/14/cfl-espn-espn-networks-multi-year-agreement/