NCAA Football 12 - How to succeed with a 1 star team in Dynasty Mode

This is simply where I like to see if strategies are feasible. For every offline dynasty I have, I have two saved games for it simply so I can try a different idea if one does not work. I don't reset games or anything like that, just recruiting (I'm 5-3, losing to Air Force, Virginia Tech, and NC State while defeating Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, and Navy)

Recruiting has been difficult but these things take time and I am willing to suffer in the short term to get better in the long run.

For this particular example of how to properly play Dynasty Mode on the new NCAA Football 12, I chose Western Michigan. The reasons for choosing them were that the expectations were low, the team is very young and recruiting is not taken for granted.

Season 1: Survival

This is the league where every user is in the SEC and I am a very small fish in a pond filled with sharks. Nevertheless, I beat Stanford (user) 9-7 in Stanford which quickly won me some recognition with recruits. 5-5 is not a bad record considering I have played or have to play Arkansas, South Carolina, West Virginia, Oklahoma, LSU, Stanford, Tennessee and Ohio State. One more win in the last two games and I'll find myself bowl bound...that is a victory in itself.

The purpose of the first season is to meet a set of rudimentary goals. This is a feeling out process that can be made to be very difficult depending on the difficulty of play.

Recruiting is a slow process when the best players you can reach are the scab picks of superior teams. It will take about two seasons to improve your standing and can bring in decent recruits. Do not be discouraged because it takes time for any team to succeed.

Season 2: Progress

Season 2 will likely find me in the SEC with the rest of my online dynasty. I will have to compete with the odds well stacked against me. My non-conference will be particularly soft to help me reach at least four wins. There is no real pressure for me to win the SEC or anything like that, but finishing mid-pack is a reasonable goal to shoot for.

Recruiting will be slightly easier due to the increase in prestige. Top 1000 recruits will be closer to your range but anyone in the Top 500 is out of the question still. Playing in the SEC has its perks though, and recruits will have a better name recongnition of your school (Try claiming you have a chance for the national championship in your first season...).

Season 3: Breakthrough

By this time, I am looking to be a four star prestige school and have a chance to cash in on the hard work with a bowl win. One should look for a record (in a good conference) of around 8-4. This is the critical period for WMU because most of their talent at the beginning of the Dynasty are underclassmen. They will be Seniors now and moving on, so there's little time to waste.

You want to find active people but not over-active. A Dynasty has to fit certain parameters, including but not limited to...

• Work Schedule
• Advance Times
• Emphasis on Recruiting (people sometimes like to skip it...why I don't know, that's what Madden is for)
• Conference Layout
• Gentleman's Rules (whether or not running up the score is acceptable, I personally don't)
• Usage/Banning of Time Savers
• Rules on Switching Teams (My league has a four-year probation if you switch teams, in other words once you switch, you can't again for four seasons.

These are all important factors in deciding if a league is right for you. Be careful to avoid what I call 'fake enthusiasm', defined as people who seek to start a league but have either no intent on running it with any fluidity or won't administer it like they should.

Regular Season - Target 10 players near the best caliber you can get for your team, 5 that are average, five below. The highest players get scholarships and the decent players that fill vital needs also get scholarships. Backups only get them IF they help keep walk-ons down at secondary positions.

Offseason - Five high-caliber, ten average, five below. The new recruits mainly fall in the 2 and 3 star brackets, so it is important to lock them up in the offseason. For a low prestige University, I strongly recommend JUCO players. They start out with a higher overall than incoming freshmen and with a redshirt they could be deadly by the time they leave with their degree.

Vary Your Approaches- Do not champion one facet of your school over everything else. Spread them out, and you'll be rewarded with a wider interest pool. Academics is very important in the game because those with a high interest in academic prestige also tend to have better football awareness.

Don't assume they'll just come to your school- Spread out the ten hours to as many players as you can. A CPU team can easily steal one out from under you if you're not careful.