Nebraska football fans were already counting down the days until the start of the season, but now Yahoo's newly launched College Fantasy Football platform will get Husker fans' motors running even earlier.
Yahoo announced this new platform on Thursday morning, adding fantasy college football to its long list of existing leagues for sports like professional football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. This is far from the first time someone has attempted to bring fantasy football to the college ranks, but it hasn't ever really caught on.
One way Yahoo could be doing it right where others have failed is by allowing only players from Power 4 teams. In other College Fantasy Football leagues, the G6 players tend to be overranked because they're facing defenses that simply aren't very good. However, with the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, SEC, and Notre Dame, the pool of players feels like the stats will be a bit more tamped down and fair.
By using Power 4 teams only, Nebraska has one player who stands out from the pack as someone who might not be considered a great quarterback when compared to Arch Manning or CJ Carr. Still, Anthony Colandrea could be a very deadly fantasy quarterback.
Yahoo ranks Anthony Colandrea as one of Nebraska football’s top fantasy assets
These leagues tend to make quarterbacks who rack up both passing and rushing numbers some of the most sought-after. Considering Colandrea ran for over 600 yards and 9 touchdowns, and threw for well over 3,000 yards and 23 touchdowns, it's not surprising that he's ranked fairly high.
In fact, the Nebraska quarterback is the 21st-best fantasy QB, ranked ahead of notable names like Oregon's Dante Moore and Ohio State's Julian Sayin.
In contrast, it's not exactly shocking that Yahoo's fantasy analysts don't have a lot of love for the Huskers' running backs corps. On the other hand, Jamal Rule, ranked as the No. 73 running back, could be one of the more interesting sleeper picks, especially in bigger leagues, should he manage to win the job.
Likewise, Nebraska's wide receivers aren't big fantasy stars, in part because it's simply not clear what kind of numbers they'll put up and because it's also not clear who might lead the group. Yahoo's best bet for the latter is Nyziah Hunter, ranked as the No. 53 wide receiver.
One big twist in Yahoo's College Fantasy Football offering is that while players can add an entire defensive unit, they can also add an entire offensive unit. Within that twist is yet another: the analysts have ranked the Huskers' offense among the best in the Power 4. Nebraska is currently the No. 13 offensive unit.
In contrast, Nebraska's defense has some proving to do, especially at the fantasy level. The Huskers will start the season with the 59th-best defense in Yahoo College Fantasy Football. That puts just 9 other teams behind them.
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