College Football 2012: The Ultimate Fantasy Football Team

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It's never too early to look at your fantasy college football team.

Careful preparation and thought separates rank amateurs from a seasoned pros. If you want bragging rights over your friends and family, you better start thinking about who you want before your competition wakes up sometime in August.

For the purposes of this slide show, we'll be using the rules and scoring system of ESPN's College Football Challenge. This means you'll need two quarterbacks, two running backs, two wide receivers/tight ends, a defense and a team of kickers.

These are the players that you should pick up if you want to triumph in your league.

Who are they? Read on.

Quarterback: Matt Barkley, USC

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Matt Barkley finished 2011 with 39 touchdowns—good enough for third place in the country. Not only have the two QBs ahead of him gone to the NFL, Kellen Moore played 13 games and Case Keenum played 14. Barkley only played 12.

Had Barkley gotten his average, and played in the Pac-12 Championship Game and a bowl game, he would have had 45.5. This would pass Moore and come just short of Keenum.

Barkley's talent automatically puts him on the radar, but his surroundings make him irresistible to a good fantasy football manager. He has a top notch-support staff around him with his favorite target Robert Woods coming back, and he has a favorable schedule.

The only team who finished in the top 25 in total defense last season on USC's schedule next season is Utah.

He should be the No. 1 in the 2013 NFL Draft, and he should be your No. 1 pick as well. 

Quarterback: Geno Smith, West Virginia

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There are quarterbacks who have more yards like Oklahoma's Landry Jones or more touchdowns like Washington's Keith Price, but Geno Smith has a good combination of both.

Smith finished 2011 with 4,385 yards and 31 touchdowns. Better yet, he only threw seven interceptions last season, which gives him a TD/INT ratio of 4.43.

In comparison, Jones had a 1.93 ratio while Price posted a 3.00.

Smith should make any fantasy football manager happy to have him.

Running Back: Montee Ball, Wisconsin

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How can you not like Montee Ball?

He led college football in rushing yards (1,923) and rushing touchdowns (33). As an added bonus, Ball excels at catching the ball out of the backfield.

He added six more touchdowns receiving, as well as one passing touchdown to Russel Wilson on a trick play.

Most impressive of all, Wilson was able to tie the great Barry Sanders in the NCAA record book for total touchdowns from a running back.

It's still debatable whether or not Ball is actually as good as Sanders, as Sanders scored that record number of touchdowns in fewer games than Ball. However, there's one thing that should be beyond question:

You should pick up Montee Ball.

Running Back: Joseph Randle, Oklahoma State

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Joseph Randle is probably the best running back you've never heard of.

It's easy to get overlooked when you're on the same team as the likes of Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon, but you shoudn't pass Randle up.

Randle came in fourth last season in rushing touchdowns with 24. His rushing yards stats from last year were good (1,216 yards rushing), but I expect those stats to go way up this season. Both Weeden and Blackmon are gone to the NFL.

Randle is going to be the main man of the prolific Cowboy offense. Although Oklahoma State tends to favor the pass, they're certainly going to ride Randle for all he's worth.

Wide Receiver: Marquess Wilson, Washington State

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Marquess Wilson was the brightest part of an anemic Washington State offense last season. The sophomore picked up 1,388 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns, and his team finished at No. 45 in scoring offense.

Now that pass-happy Mike Leach is teaching the air raid offense to the Cougars, Wilson's already impressive numbers could skyrocket.

Wide Receiver: Robert Woods, USC

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Robert Woods is not only one of the best wide receivers in college football, he also has one of the best quarterbacks in college football throwing to him.

That's a deadly combination.

Woods had 1,292 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, but remember that USC played only 12 games.

Had the Trojans played 14 and Woods had hit his average each game, he would have had 1,507 yards and 17.5 touchdowns.

Those are Justin Blackmon kind of numbers.

Tight End: Jacob Pedersen, Wisconsin

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ESPN's version of fantasy football lumps wide receivers and tight ends together. That means that you probably aren't going to pick up a tight end, as wide receivers put up much better numbers.

However, if your fantasy league does have a separate spot for these big guys, take a long hard look at Wisconsin's Jacob Pedersen.

Granted, Russell Wilson isn't going to be the one throwing to him anymore, but he did pick up eight touchdowns last season.

Not worth taking over a WR, but definitely respectable in his own right.

Kickers: Oklahoma State

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Quinn Sharp may kick himself for missing a crucial field goal that could have given the Cowboys the victory over Iowa State and a spot in the BCS National Championship Game.

That doesn't mean that you should kick him and Oklahoma State to the curb.

Just the opposite.

Sharp made 79 of his 80 extra points last season and went 22-for-25 in field goals— with a long of 46 yards. True, he doesn't make 40-plus yard attempts often, but ESPN doesn't care how long those field goals are.

While Oklahoma State may not be quite as prolific in scoring with Bradon Weeden and Justin Blackmon gone, they'll score enough points to keep Sharp plenty busy—giving you a lot of points. 

Defense/Special Teams: LSU

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LSU was the No. 2 scoring defense last season, but they're likely to take over the No. 1 spot from Alabama. A good chunk of last year's national championship defense has already moved on to the NFL.

The Tigers did lose some defensive talent as Morris Claiborne left for the pros, but LSU has a lot of dangerous and talented players still around.

Defensive linemen Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo combined for an impressive 17.0 sacks last season, and the secondary is still solid with CB Tyrann "Honey Badger" Mathieu and S Eric Reid presiding.

The other thing LSU has going for them is their schedule. The Tigers face four teams they should be able to shut out: North Texas, Idaho, Townson and Ole Miss.

They also face four teams that finished in the top 25 of scoring offense last season.

However, Texas A&M won't be as good this year, as they try to replace Ryan Tannehill.

The Tigers get both Washington and Alabama at home. Arkansas does pose something of a threat with Tyler Wilson and Knile Davis both back, but the Tiger defense manhandled the Razorbacks last season and held this potent offense to only 17 points.

LSU's special teams play only sweetens the pot. You can count on Les Miles scoring one or more special teams touchdowns on fake punts or field goals.

And, you get the Honey Badger as your kickoff returner.