Fantasy College Football Approaching the Mainstream

NEW YORK - As if we didn't already have enough on our plate. There's a new fantasy game on the rise, and its ascension toward our radar seems only logical.

"People are so engaged and enthralled they can never get enough," CBS Sports personality Brian Jones said. "You always talk about the passion with college football. I used to host a college football radio talk show in Austin, Texas. It was amazing. People always want to talk college football. It can be January, February, March, April...it didn't matter."

We all know the numbers. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimates that 34.5 million people have ever played fantasy sports. And according to an "ESPN survey" college football is the fourth most popular sport in the United States. So naturally it makes sense to start talking about fantasy college football. Especially since you are essentially following the same format as fantasy football, the most popular of all fantasy games.

Jones, a former All-Southwest Conference linebacker at Texas, is entering his fifth year with CBS Sports as a college football analyst. Last season he incorporated some fantasy talk into his Inside College Football show. This season he expects to bring more fantasy talk to the program.

"I think we will [talk fantasy] on the show," he said. "We did a lot last year. They haven't told us yet, but I'm sure we'll play a part in it."

It might be helpful, too, since I'm sure for many of you this season would be your first venture into the world of fantasy college football. And it's certainly worthwhile to listen to Jones, who has a bit of an inside track. "I talk to a lot of coaches," he said. "I talk to coaches, see who's looking good, who they like, and if they're putting in a new scheme, how's that progressing, and that'll give me an idea of how a defense will perform." Yes, we should all be so lucky.

Since I have never played, let alone thought about playing fantasy college football, I asked Jones for a few inside tips for beginners. See if he could pass along some of his favorite players and some sleepers to keep an eye on.

The first player he mentioned was ex-Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who will play for Mississippi this season after being kicked off the Oregon team for getting arrested twice in the span of six months. Jones raved about Masoli, calling him a true dual threat quarterback.

"I can't remember Houston Nutt having a quarterback like that," he said. "I think he's going to bring some excitement to that offense. He'll be a game-changer for them," later adding, "If they can keep him out of trouble."

Jones also said that he liked LaMichael James of Oregon, Greg Childs of Arkansas, and said that Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray should contend for the Heisman Trophy if he can stay healthy.

When it comes to a "sleeper" pick, Jones said that Dillion Baxter, the freshman running back at the University of Southern California, is someone to keep an eye on. He called Baxter the "second coming of Reggie Bush." His highlight video on YouTube helps back up that claim.

For those of you who could use a few more tips, CBS Sports has released a fantasy college football draft kit, with the help of the gentlemen over at RotoWire.

Really, with the popularity of fantasy football it's simply a matter of familiarizing yourself with the players in the college game. The rules and the scoring system are basically one in the same. The game may not have been on your radar in the past, but with the tools available on the Internet, Jones believes that fantasy college football will likely be old hat in no time.