College Fantasy Football: Here are 4 useful tips and strategy to help you prepare for the playoffs

It’s hard to believe the college fantasy football playoffs start for most leagues next week, but that is the nature of the CFB regular season that we love so much. While many of the principles we've outlined over the course of the season — including examining the most and least favorable playoff schedules — still apply when setting your lineups this time of year, here are a few tips to consider now that we’ve reached the most important weeks of the season.  Start your stars. Unless…While the classic fantasy proverb "start your stars" certainly applies in the college fantasy football realm, the vast weekly disparities when it comes to quality of opponents does offer a caveat to that ethos. Teams like West Virginia, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Mississippi State and Maryland are so inept defensively that you need to give a weekly bump to any potentially startable skill players facing these pitiful defenses. That doesn't mean sit superstars like WR Jeremiah Smith or RB Nate Sheppard. However, if it comes down to starting Purdue RB Fame Ijeboi against Iowa this week, or Virginia Tech RB Jeffrey Overton Jr. versus Stanford, then you should probably prioritize Overton against the hapless Cardinal defense, which ranks 136th in rushing success rate allowed (52%) and yards after contact (3.3). You cannot afford a sub-5-point performance when you’re fighting for a playoff spot or during the postseason. The margin of victory tightens.Pay attention to your rival's lineup and adjust accordinglyWho your opponent is playing is almost as important as the players you intend to start. For instance, this Friday night we've got six P4 teams in action, so it's likely that your opponent will have someone involved in those contests. If Florida State QB Ashton Daniels puts up 35+ points against Pitt on Friday, then I'll be much more likely to start a player with a true "boom-or-bust" profile as opposed to a "high-floor, low-ceiling" type contributor. This approach also works in the inverse, where if someone exits a Friday game early due to injury, then perhaps your RB who is guaranteed 15+ touches is a safer option than a high-variance rusher who could also bust, evaporating your potential advantage. Plan aheadMake sure you are using your bench spots to stash players you aren't starting in Week 11, but who have premium matchups in Weeks 12 and/or 13. Any players who you know you won't be starting for you this week are liabilities unless they serve a future purpose. There are 68 Power Four programs, meaning the weekly waiver wire will almost always have a few players who supplanted a starter that weekend by way of superior performance or injury attrition. Identify which of your players have dicey matchups in Weeks 12 and 13, then shuttle them out for ascending players who have appealing matchups on tap in future weeks and stash them until you need to deploy them in future weeks. Remember, there will only be four teams to compete with for players in Round 1 of the playoffs, so you won't have to fight 11 other thirsty managers for the premium free agents. Injury vigilanceThere are no mulligans in the playoffs, so if you start an injured player, that zero could very well end your season. As you know by now, discerning injury fact from fiction in college football can be a daunting task. Coaches have no qualms about misleading the media and, most importantly, their opponents about the health status of key players. Use every reliable source available, especially trusted beat writers and team reports, to make an informed decision. Keep a close eye on pregame sideline reports that can relay whether your player is participating in warmups. For a player whose status is up in the air due to injury, you might even need to dig through social media and message boards. Bottom line: Dodging a DNP can save your season, so stay vigilant for morsels of actionable info on game day. You can also monitor my rankings over the course of the week, as I’ll continue to update them based on the latest information.