An NFL pick'em contest is easy․ Everyone chooses the winner of each game, where there will be at most 16 games in a given week․ Add college football to the weekly pick sheet‚ and it will look much different․ OfficePoolStop refers to combined pools‚ and the pool manager selects which NFL games, casinos that accept google pay UK and college games to include each week in the pool․
The 2026 Pick X rule restricts the number of selections made by each team and divides the selections equally․ Pick 10 refers to five NFL picks and five college football picks․ Four things to consider for a hybrid league are: the number of games played‚ the relative score differences in games‚ the type of scoring system used in the league‚ and when fantasy players lock in their choices․
The Weekly Slate Gets Much Bigger
Begin with the confidence game‚ in which each selection is assigned a point value․ In a full NFL week, numbered 1 to 16‚ you save number 16 for your best pick․ Sixteen games is the limit․
College football does not follow this rule․ In 2026‚ there are 138 teams at the highest college level‚ known as FBS․ There are 32 NFL teams․ A Saturday may have dozens of games․ Some FBS teams play matches against FCS teams‚ and some match schedules include Friday night games․ Nobody can watch everything or be familiar with all teams․
So someone decides what games to count․ Some game pools provide a list of games․ One printable game pool lists 15 popular game titles․ In hybrid pools‚ the manager determines the week's allocation․
Blowouts Break Straight-Up Picks
The NFL tries to maintain parity among teams․ The draft gives new players to weaker teams․ A salary cap prevents a team from purchasing all of its players․ College football has none of these restrictions‚ and the best recruiting colleges continue to recruit the best athletes․
Early-season schedules increase the time difference further․ A title competitor runs a seasonal program at a smaller conference and is paid a fee to travel․ Games like this often have favourites with spreads of 30 points or more․ Final scores are more variable in the college game‚ with a standard deviation of 16 points compared to 13․5 in the NFL.
Say you choose the favourite in a game with a 30-point spread․ Nobody would consider it a good choice․ It also has very low pay․ In an NFL game‚ this decision requires careful consideration due to the proximity of the teams․
The Spread Brings Its Own Rules
Some pools offer solutions to the blowout problem through point spreads․ The point spread increases the underdog's chances of winning‚ so rather than predicting a winner‚ you predict the point spread winner․ Suppose the home team wins 31 to 23․ Their point spread was 16․5 points in their favour․ The team won by 8 points․ The team did not cover․ Everyone who chose the home team loses‚ despite the home team winning․
Half points‚ such as 16․5‚ prevent the actual score of the game from being the number․ A 17-point margin of victory versus a spread of 17 is a tie with the number․ Some pools announce next week's lines on Sunday and at least by Monday․ Lines change throughout the week․ Therefore, the number in the pool may not match the number you observe at a later time․
Kickoff Days and Deadlines Collide
Most NFL games are played on Sunday․ College football games are played on Thursday and Friday nights in addition to the Saturday games․ Combine events so there are multiple kickoff days in a week․
Your manager determines deadlines‚ and they are firm deadlines․ Set it to the first kickoff‚ and the pool is locked for all other games‚ including incomplete games․ One common option allows users to set the deadline to kickoff time for each game in Manager under League Settings.
One printed college pool omits many games that are not played on Saturdays to give all participants more time to make selections․ Bye Week removes one week of your grades if you don't select them‚ and you will receive email reminders 24 hours before the end of the deadline․ Both are important if a sheet features two sports․
Conclusion
Adding college football games to NFL games will affect four factors․ The season includes more than 16 games․ Blowouts involving teams favoured by 30 points or more aren't good bets and offer little profit․ Point spreads affect scoring․ And start times for Thursday and Saturday games begin to adjust once game selections are locked․
Commissioners should address three tasks before the start of week one․ Decide which games to include and how to score them․ Set a deadline for game play․ OfficePoolStop's guide recommends that players have a basic understanding of league scoring and deadlines at the start of a new season․
At the deadline‚ all games still unlocked are locked‚ and players who incorrectly guess the time lose those picks․ Establish clear guidelines upfront so that your team members focus on making picks throughout the season‚ not on debating the rules․