DFS College Football 2015: Beginner Strategy Guide and DFS Advice
The advent of fantasy football has personalized the NFL for millions of people.
Each Sunday, hordes of people gather in bars, at each other's houses, on couches, or even in man caves to intently watch their fantasy selections perform on television. Interest in the sport has seemingly increased even further with this virtual-meets-real-life activity.
But while NFL fantasy football is exceptionally popular, what about college fantasy football?
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
DraftKings has provided an opportunity for fans to play daily fantasy college football—with the potential to win money. The College Football Training Camp is a program geared toward assisting newbies in the art of fantasy football at the collegiate level.
This piece will explain the rules via a four-step process—which can be found in its entirety here.
Step 1: Understanding How it Works
There are inherent (and obvious) similarities between playing daily fantasy NFL and daily fantasy college football. Like the NFL, college football rosters feature nine players. The main difference is that daily fantasy college football players are gifted a second quarterback.
This surely creates a high-scoring element to the contests—in addition to making the actual gameplay much more exciting. The salary cap—identical to the NFL play—is $50,000.
One needs to be aware of trends when featuring players from various college programs. Not only are there usually more points scored per game compared to the NFL, but there's a general idea of when a team will put up a ton of points against a lower-level opponent.
As is the case with any endeavor, taking the time to prepare and do thorough research will only aid in one's potential winnings. This includes exhausting any and all resources pertaining to the subject matter—including the point spreads and odds from Las Vegas on any given day.
The more well-versed players are in personnel and team information, the better they'll likely perform.
Step 2: The Scoring System
It goes without saying, but a quarterback in a pass-happy offense will likely rack up a ton of points.
On the DraftKings points system, 100 yards passing is equivalent to a passing touchdown. A passing touchdown itself is worth four points. This bodes well for options such as Washington State quarterback Luke Falk or Baylor signal-caller Seth Russell.
One can rack points with a strong rushing attack. One point is given for every 10 yards rushing. A rushing touchdown will give the owner six points. It would behoove any owner to target a player projected to receive the vast majority of his team's carries.
UCLA running back Paul Perkins, Utah rusher Devontae Booker and LSU workhorse Leonard Fournette all fit the bill in this capacity.
The best-case scenario for any owner is to find a true dual-threat quarterback. A signal-caller with the ability to throw for 250-plus yards and also rush for at least 80 yards is a rare commodity—and a valuable one. TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin is an obvious fit for this description, as are J.T. Barrett, Vernon Adams, Dak Prescott, and Justin Thomas.
There is a disclaimer, however. Each individual team situation needs to be studied. Will a quarterback's team be involved in a number of blowout victories? If so, there's a decent chance that said signal-caller will be lifted from the game before its conclusion. This, in theory, will equate to leaving points on the table.
Additionally, selecting a signal-caller from a two-quarterback system is understandably a bit of a dicey situation.
From a receiver standpoint, targeting a possession receiver (no pun intended) is smart. The more opportunities a pass-catcher gets, the more catches the receiver theoretically will grab. A touchdown reception is worth six points.
Selecting a running back with the capability to catch the ball out of the backfield is also worth exploring for a higher point total.
Bonuses occur for incredibly high point totals. Players will receive an extra three points for accruing a passing total of over 300 yards, a rushing mark of over 100 yards or at least 100 receiving yards.
When attempting to reach these totals, conventional wisdom suggests looking at the opposition of the team the player is facing. For instance, Oregon running back Royce Freeman vs. Eastern Washington on Sept. 5 appears to be a tasty matchup.
Step 3: Player Cards are Your Friends
DraftKings provides a wonderful tool for helping you create your weekly lineup: player cards, which are essentially quick statistical breakdowns of any athlete.
Each card provides totals for home and away games. This can be found on the "at a glance" tab. One needs to be cognizant of these totals. It isn't a given that a player will replicate the season averages in every single game. Much of his production will be determined by the opponent during that specific week.
The "game log" tab is a more effective barometer when trying to determine how well a selection will do. By researching the opponents and their records, you can ascertain how well a player will do against top competition and also versus lower-level teams.
For instance, a running back such as Derrick Henry will likely put up big numbers in nonconference play. Once Henry and the Crimson Tide enter the SEC schedule, those statistical outputs will probably drop off a bit.
It's also an efficient way of looking at season trends. Does your running back routinely catch three-to-four catches a game? Will your quarterback rush for at least 50 yards? As previously mentioned, the more research you do, the better your potential gameplay will be.
Step 4: Different Lineups for Different Competitions
DraftKings offers two types of cash-based competitions: cash games and tournaments.
Cash games involve smaller amounts of people competing against one another. A larger chunk of people win money, but the winnings aren't as lucrative when compared to tournaments.
These head-to-head or three-person contests require an elite player at either the quarterback position or the running back spot. Signal-callers putting up big numbers are not often replicated by any other position within the lineup.
In terms of wide receivers, seek consistency over potential. A player consistently catching six or seven passes is likely a better option compared to a high-upside receiver catching multiple touchdowns once in a seven-game span.
The second quarterback is the true wild card. You don't need to break the bank and go after two highly expensive options. Look at the competition each option will be facing for that specific week. A mid-level quarterback may be facing a favorable matchup.
In essence, it wouldn't be wise to spend virtually all of your money on two elite quarterbacks and one stud running back. Balance needs to exist within your roster.
Tournaments involve a much bigger pool of competitors. As such, you can be more creative and daring with your personnel choices. In other words, try to exploit the "boom" potential with any player.
While goal-line backs only get a handful of carries a game, they could be attractive fantasy options within the tournament setup. Touchdowns are pure gold—and the price for a specialist shouldn't be too high.
The Most Important Thing
Have fun!
This is an enjoyable activity bonding people of all ages and backgrounds. Don't get too upset if you don't start off super-successfully. There's a trial-and-error period through which all rookie fantasy players go.
Head to DraftKings and sign up for daily fantasy college football today! From there you can participate in contests with big cash prizes! Dive for the Pylon!
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
