Perception is Not Reality in Fantasy
July 7th, 2008 by John Huss
College fantasy football…it can’t be done. Time and time again I have heard this remark from colleagues of mine who participate in every type of pro league available under the sun. Each time I bring up college fantasy football, it’s as if I’m suddenly speaking Latin or some other long dead language. If people can play fantasy soccer or fantasy NASCAR, then I know that it can be done for college football on a much grander scale than it is today.
Now granted, we also know that fantasy football at the college level is much more difficult to handicap than at the pro level. Athletes at the pro level are mostly known quantities and only a handful of rookies or players switching teams come out of nowhere to surprise owners. Even then, most websites or fantasy oriented magazines can accurately peg who will be a “sleeper”.
Three main factors that take place at the college level intimidate even the most seasoned pro fantasy owners…enough for them to pass on what is truly the most exciting and challenging form of fantasy sports.
Number of Schools
The first and most obvious reason is the sheer number of schools that need to be covered. There are 120 Universities that are generally providing the pool of players that can be used in college fantasy football. It’s been awhile since I was actually in college but I’m pretty confident that 120 universities is greater than 32 pro teams. Now, if we were in the 1970’s, I’d say that we’d have a problem playing this game. However, the internet has opened the door for us to enjoy college football at a new level. It is now easy to find football reports via the University websites, media companies like ESPN, FOX, CBS and also thru blossoming content providers like FantasyCollegeBlitz.com.
It’s at this moment that I like to draw a comparison to fantasy baseball. True there are only 30 teams in that sport, however, there are many layers to each team with Rookie, A, AA and AAA levels in the minors. Content providers not only produce draft information on current major league players, they also have to dig down to all the minor league teams to keep fantasy owners up to date. Between top rookies, possible call ups and guys to stash as late season sleepers, the search for a competitive edge is a constant. Add on top of this the research that goes into foreign players and you can see that baseball requires a massive amount of attention. Interestingly, this large player pool hasn’t compelled owners to turn their back on fantasy baseball. In fact, there are now AL and NL only leagues to take the competition to the next level. So take a page from fantasy baseball and know that college fantasy football can be enjoyed despite the larger number of teams.
Injury report – Ha!
Here we run into our first legitimate roadblock with college football as the flow of information is not as efficient as it is with pro teams. It is freakishly difficult to get good or accurate information for the smaller schools with injured players or even who might be starting. The one thing to keep in mind is that all the owners in your league are playing on the same field. To me, this minimizes the impact of this roadblock as it is a shared situation. Additionally, if you are in a league that includes smaller schools, then your pool of available free agents will carry enough talent to replace a questionable player.
That doesn’t mean you should settle for a level playing field. This is where I have to make a plug for our site. FantasyCollegeBlitz.com is not just a site that provides pre-draft cheat sheets and player rankings. Our goal is to be the most innovative and complete content provider for the college fantasy football enthusiast.
With that in mind, we reached out to Mr. Injury Expert himself, Will Carroll . Some may know Will from his work at Baseball Prospectus, where he has been covering baseball injuries for years. He has also covered the NFL and produced injury reports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Rotowire.com and Football Outsiders. If you haven’t read his work, we are excited to introduce him to you via our site. We will publish weekly injury articles presented by Will so that our readers have an edge on the competition. Be aware that these are not simple statements like “Spurrier out – bruised ego”. These will be insightful comments put together via Will’s experience reporting about injuries. They will also be powered by a network of connections so plentiful that it would make MySpace crash for a week. Although I joke about his network, I must make one thing clear – this is exactly the level of premium content we strive to bring to you each and every week and will make us unique in this growing hobby. Make it a bookmark.
How many years???
Another explanation that discourages fans from playing fantasy college football is the shorter “life span” of a college player. At best you get 4 active years out of them before they are gone. The argument is that once you finally figure out a player, he’s moving onto the pro ranks. As a guy who has been playing fantasy football for over 15 years, I see this more as an opportunity than as a roadblock. Owners are constantly trying to find ways to create parity in their pro leagues. Nothing ruins a league more than having one or two owners dominate year after year. By default, the college game provides that parity by turning over your fantasy roster. Each season everyone is working from a clean slate which helps prevent any one owner from getting the leg up on the rest of the league. This is what makes college fantasy football Draft Day something special.
Shorter careers also makes keeper leagues more interesting for those owners who are extra hardcore with their college football. Nothing is more rewarding than tucking away a freshman RB on your bench only to have him turn into a fantasy stud in his sophomore and junior year. Because of the college player life cycle, you are “forced” to stay on top of your game to find that next guy. If you really want to test your fantasy skills, you need to start up a college fantasy league this season.
The other benefit around this level of turnover at the college level is that you can use your time spent on fantasy college football to improve your skills at the pro level. Look at your college team as a chance to scout the “minor” leagues so that you can know about potential NFL sleepers before the next guy. Since players are advancing each year, you constantly have guys that you can pick in the later rounds of your NFL draft. This is based on you having a better understanding around how they play.
As a matter of fact, be sure to look at the NFL Draft Guide by Rotojunkie.com. We will have a piece in there covering the Top 25 Rookies to keep an eye on. Just don’t fall into the trappings that our own Vince Mullins runs into each NFL season. He takes the college guys way too early! I am already asking him to knock James Hardy down his cheat sheet…
Closing Thoughts
Hopefully you have seen the light and are ready to get going with a fantasy college league. Realize that every new venture will have a learning curve. I remember many moons ago, I kept telling my NFL buddies that even though I enjoyed watching baseball, I wasn’t interested in giving fantasy baseball a chance. After all, I didn’t really follow any other teams besides the Braves. Finally, I gave into the peer pressure (trust me, it didn’t take much) and joined the league. I was able to use my skills from years of playing fantasy football to finish respectfully in the middle of the pack. Better yet, I used that season as a stepping stone to a second place finish the following year. The bottom line is that if you enjoy college football and you enjoy fantasy games, then you should really give this a try. Therefore, our next chapter of the Owners Playbook will show you how to get started with forming a league.
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