Table of Contents
How to Play
Select either the Over or Under in the Prediction column for every team team listed. The teams are organized by conference within Columns A-J of your sheet.
Choose all your Locks and your chosen Line Shift. The breakdown of each Lock per each conference is below:
- ACC: 2
- Big 12: 2
- Big Ten: 3
- SEC: 2
- Independent/PAC 12: 1
Select your “Lock of the Year.” This has to be a team already chosen as one of your other Locks.
That’s it! Have fun, enjoy the season, and good luck!
Rules
- All picks (regular + Locks + Lock adjustments) are due by 12:00p EST the day of the first college football game of the season. This year that happens to be Saturday, August 23rd at 12:00p.
- Any regular picks not selected before the above deadline will count as 0 points toward your overall score.
- Any locks not selected before the above deadline will not count towards your score.
- Any lock adjustments not made before the above deadline will assume you selected “None” for a lock adjustment and count accordingly
- Over/Unders will be pulled on a specific date from a specific site that will be communicated to the group. Once pulled, the over/unders will NOT change.
- Buy in for each player is $20 and the prize is “Winner-Take-All” to whoever finishes with the highest overall point. You may create a spreadsheet without buying in but you will not be eligible for the prize.
- Tie-Breaker will work accordingly:
- Highest overall points
- Highest overall Lock picks correct
- Most Lock of the Year points
- Highest overall correct picks(not including Locks)
- Coin Toss or Group Decision
Scoring
- All over/under picks have a base value of 1 point.
- All Locks add a default additional base value of 1 point.
- Lock Adjustments are are described in the bullets below and the scoring is outlined in the below table:
- None: Selecting this option means you do not want to shift the over/under tally. If the over/under tally for the team was originally 5.5, their target over/under will remain 5.5.
- Adjusted +1: Selecting this option means you want to shift the over/under tally up by 1 win. If the over/under tally for the team was originally 5.5, their target over/under will be 6.5 instead.
- Adjusted -1: Selecting this option means you want to shift the over.under tally up by 1 win. If the over/under tally for the team was originally 5.5, their target over/under will be 4.5 instead.
- “Lock of the Year” adds 4 point to your potential points gained for that pick. i.e. Add 4 points to the Possible Points Gained.
 Lock Adjustments |
Over/Under | Possible Points Gained | Possible Points Lost | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
None |
Over |
2 |
0
|
You have not changed the line and therefore the baseline scoring of 2 points for a correct pick and 0 points for an incorrect pick remain. |
|
None |
Under |
2 |
0
|
You have not changed the line and therefore the baseline scoring of 2 points for a correct pick and 0 points for an incorrect pick remain.
|
|
Adjusted +1 |
Over |
3 |
0
|
You have taken the over and upped the target over/under win total by 1 win. This over will be harder to achieve but if you do achieve it, you will be rewarded by earning 3 points instead of the baseline 2 points. There are no repercussions for losing. |
|
Adjusted +1 |
Under |
2 |
-1 |
You have taken the under and upped the target over/under win total by 1 win. This under will be easier to achieve but if you don’t achieve it, you could be punished by losing 1 point as opposed to losing 0 points. The baseline 2 points for a successful pick remains. |
|
Adjusted -1 |
Over |
2 |
-1 |
You have taken the over and lowered the target over/under win total by 1 win. This over will be easier to achieve but if you don’t achieve it, you could be punished by losing 1 point as opposed to losing 0 points. The baseline 2 points for a successful pick remains. |
|
Adjusted -1 |
Under |
3 |
0
|
You have taken the under and lowered the over/under win total by 1 win. This under will be harder to achieve but if you do achieve it, you could be rewarded by earning 3 points instead of the baseline 2 points. There are no repercussions for losing. |
Origin
A lifelong sports enthusiast, this game was my brain child with plenty of previous inspiration to draw from. I have participated in many online sports competitions over the years; Fantasy football leagues, weekly pick’ems, march madness brackets etc… These games are all great and I would recommend most to anyone interested. However, I was looking for something a little different that would combine some of my favorite elements of all of them:
- Up Front Work: I wanted to be able to create something that was engaging over the course of a sports season but was minimal maintenance during the actual season.
- League Wide Investment: The March Madness bracket challenge is the best competition at getting people to root for a team they have never heard of before they started filling out their bracket. It was important to me that I ensured my game would force people to get engaged in teams that are usually outside of their realm of interest. Plus, it’s fun to learn about all the teams!
- Gambling Itch: As an amateur gambler, I love to make season long bets but hate to put a lot of money on the line for each one. This game accomplishes both including over/unders for each team but only having to put a flat sum for the entire competition.
Hence, NCAA College Football Locks was created! Ironically, the weekly updates which are now my favorite part of this competition was initially just a by product. However, as I began to write them I had a blast doing all the research, keeping track of everything and tap into my creative side.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me directly!
