One of the best parts about playing a college football video game is all the teams available for use. I have been playing NCAA Football for close to eight years, and I have basically tried every single dynasty path possible.

However, before I get to talking about dynasty paths, I would also like to add that in every single dynasty, there are three important tasks that I will always complete before I start playing games.

1. Custom Stadium Sounds - I can't tell you how much this adds to an authentic game-day experience. Check out the Operation Sports NCAA Football 11 forums. There are literally hundreds of sound packs available, for free, for you to use. Simply use a jump drive and drag the desired sound files to it. Then simply plug it in to your PS3/360 and copy the files to the hard drive. Hearing "Zombie Nation" blaring with a siren in the background makes it that much more fun to score a touchdown. "For Whom The Bell Tolls" as your defense gets ready for a huge third down is another great example. Maybe it's just me, but I just love this feature.

2. Custom Sliders - If you have not changed your sliders, you are most likely missing out. NCAA 11 plays almost completely different if you adjust your sliders, particularly in the running game and pass rush departments. I like tweaking sliders on the All-American difficulty level because I feel like the game simply cheats you on the Heisman difficulty level too often.

3. Setting Audibles - The new flavor of the week in college football is Oregon's uptempo spread attack. Trying to duplicate or run a similar offense to this is nearly impossible if you do not set audibles to match your play style. I realize that you can call basically any play from the no-huddle screen, but I almost always change out of my play at the line of scrimmage, as it seems like the computer sets its defense based on what play you pick. This is more of a personal preference.

Now with that checklist out of the way, here are some different types of dynasties that I have found to be thoroughly entertaining.

Juggernaut

There's no messing around here. You pick a five- or six-star prestige school and simply try to win the national championship every single year. In this year's version, it's much more difficult to consistently recruit at the top of the leaderboard, so my Miami Hurricanes dynasty has been one of my favorites so far this year. There are a few different things you can do with a powerhouse school. One plan that I've had in the past is to try and adopt a triple-option attack while using a six-star school. Recruiting for this offense with the advantages of an elite school can be loads of fun, especially since it seems like the running backs come in at a higher skill level than the wide receivers do.

Schools to use: Texas, USC, Florida, LSU, Alabama, Ohio State, Miami, Florida State, Oklahoma

Breakthrough

Using a school on the cusp of greatness can also be quite entertaining. Some of these teams start out with a boatload of talent, but they lack the high level of recruiting pitches to consistently stay at the top of the rankings. It's your job to pick up an Oregon or a Nebraska and make them (or return them in some cases) a perennial powerhouse.

Schools to use: Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Oklahoma State, Missouri, UCLA, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Michigan

Big 6 Project

There's not much explaining to do here. Pick up a bottom feeder in an elite conference and try to bring that school into the conference's upper echelon. My Minnesota dynasty is my most played one at the moment, and that's because I feel like it is the most rewarding one. I went .500 for my first few seasons at the helm, but now we are challenging for a Rose Bowl berth almost every season. The key to this mode is simply getting enough recruits to last you throughout a full cycle. It's ridiculously easy to only get 10 recruits a season, and then when you get three years in, you realize that you only have 35 scholarship players on your roster. Another reason why I like this type of dynasty so much is because you get to play big-time college football while still building up a school from the ground up. You can always use custom conferences to swap schools in and out as well.

Schools to use: Minnesota, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Iowa State, Northwestern, Washington, Washington State, Duke

BCS Buster

There's not many things more pleasing than bringing a school from the WAC or Sun Belt into the national-championship race. One thing I have done in the past is to pick a non-BCS school and create one player to use over four seasons to help you get started. I'm not saying make a guy that's 99 overall or anything, but it can make it a little easier and more fun to play your dynasty if you create yourself or someone else to follow for four seasons as you get your own recruits into the picture.

Schools to use: Any school outside of the Big 6 conferences

TeamBuilder

I can't even begin to say how much depth TeamBuilder has added to Dynasty mode. You can literally start any type of team you want. I played an NCAA Football 10 TeamBuilder dynasty using the names of famous historical figures in American history. My quarterback was FDR, my kicker was Harry Truman and my stud defensive end was Abraham Lincoln. I could go on for hours about that dynasty. The only thing I wish EA Sports would have added is the ability to either create your own stadium, or at least be able to modify the designs/colors/logos. The possibilities are really endless.

Schools to use: Any school you can concoct in your own mind