Rob's Rankings: CFB's over/unders; World Cup teams to pull for

With the federal ban on sports betting dead and gone, we here at Rob’s rankings salute an extremely fun and now extremely legal activity with a look at the upcoming season’s over-under win totals, which were released by Covers.com late last week. Today, we rank the five most appealing bets of the bunch.

Disclaimer: If you take these suggestions and win, please reach out to rcassidy@oath.com to send thanks and possibly a gift card. If you take such advice and lose, it’s your fault, stupid. Don’t you know the house always wins? How irresponsible are you? Gambling is a silly waste of money. Shouldn’t you be saving for retirement? Get your life together.

MORE: Farrell's predictions on uncommitted five-stars | Friedman's tour of North Carolina

K-State has won six games or more in each of the last nine seasons. This year, it returns a pair of quarterbacks that found notable levels of success a year ago. Bill Snyder has gotten much worse collections of talent to seven wins, so it’s hard to imagine a world in which a team with proven skill players and NFL prospect Dalton Risner anchoring the offensive line misses out of the postseason.

If K-State finds a way past Mississippi State in the non-conference, this will be an easy cover. The Wildcats probably won’t go 9-3, but that seems a lot more likely than 5-7. Bet your least favorite child on this. Will confirmed grandfather Bill Snyder let you lose you kid? Of course not.

Spread-covering machine Scott Frost runs an offense that is special. That’s not really up for debate at this juncture. And while he’s never been a Power Five head coach, it’s not as though his philosophy hasn’t been tested at this level. Frost found an impressive level of success at Oregon before being tabbed to lead UCF, the program he took from 0-12 to 14-0 in just two seasons in Orlando.

Add in the fact that Nebraska’s roster has its share of lingering talent and that Frost’s style isn’t exactly commonplace in the Big Ten, and it’s not difficult to convince yourself that the Huskers could shock some people in year one. I’m certainly not betting against a coach that took a 0-12 program to 6-6 the last time he functioned as a first-year head coach.

This season will give us an idea just how special Frost is on two fronts. Nebraska’s performance will certainly be the most important factor, but just how far UFCF sinks will also make a statement.

The Knights’ perfect 2017 season included a handful of narrow escapes and the upcoming campaign includes games at Memphis and at USF, the league’s two other heavy hitters. A non-conference game at North Carolina and one at home against what should be an improved Pitt team could also be interesting.

First-time head coach Josh Heupel will need to find a new leader on defense if he hopes to come anywhere near replicating last year’s success. If UCF loses a trap game in the first half of the season, this could be an easy win.

FOR MORE KNIGHTS NEWS, VISIT UCFSPORTS.COM

It’s fun to make jokes about Herm Edwards maybe not knowing his school’s mascot or learning the ins and outs of modern recruiting on the job. In fact, we do those things often in this space, but it’s unlikely that Edwards has forgotten how to coach football.

Whatever you think of Arizona State’s long-term future of under Edwards, the program has an experienced coach working with a returning quarterback and a coaching staff that put together a 7-6 season a year ago. An over bet on the Sun Devils isn’t an over bet on anything beyond this season, which is when some think things will start getting dicey. There’s no reason a veteran coach such as Edwards should fail to find a healthy level of success in year one when you consider than four schools on ASU’s schedule will also be breaking in new head coaches. Betting on Edwards is a bit of a risk, sure, but nobody would book your bets if gambling were easy.

The Cyclones haven’t won seven or more games in back-to-back seasons since 2005 and have gone to back-to-back bowl games just nine times in the school’s entire history. Iowa State enters the 2018 season without the departed Allen Lazard, one of the most touted recruits in school history. Lazard led the team in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns a season ago, making replacing his production tricky.

Iowa State won’t be awful by any stretch in the season ahead, but finding 7 wins on the schedule is difficult. Even if the Cyclones beat Kansas, Texas Tech, Akron, Baylor and South Dakota State as they should, finding certain victories on the rest of the schedule is tough. This bet may come down to the season’s final week, when the Cyclones play Kansas State, a team it hasn’t beaten since 2007.

The 2018 World Cup gets under way this month, and the United States will play as many matches as the LSU football team in this year’s event. The country’s absence leaves many Americans with no squad to support. Luckily, Rob’s Rankings (along with a million other columns on a million other websites) is here to help with its casual soccer fan’s guide to teams worthy of your support. Below, we rank the top five teams to cheer on when things kick off in Russia.

1. Iceland

The smallest country to ever compete in the World Cup, Iceland is the underdog to end all underdogs. Also, you should probably check out the impossibly cool Viking Clap celebration if you need more reason to hop on the bandwagon.

2. Nigeria

Nigeria has the tournament’s best uniforms. Will they win the tournament? No way in hell, but supporting them gives you an excuse to buy a truly great jersey and wear it to a bar in the morning. Nigeria has talented young players and a potent attack, which will likely make them a blast to watch.

3. Argentina

They have a transcendent name Lionel Messi, who is still chasing his first World Cup trophy. An all-time great trying to win the big one is a storyline as old as sports, so it won’t be hard to hop on board with the narrative.

4. England

Sign on for cool accents and lots well-known players from throughout the English Premier League. You could pick a worse team to support. England isn’t winning this thing, but whatever. You can probably find a watch party in any decent-sized city. That matters.

5. Brazil

Do you value winning above all else? Do you wish the New England Patriots would finally catch a break? Do you own an New York Yankees hat or an Alabama Football shirt? If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these, Brazil, which has won five World Cups and is this year’s favorite, is your squad. Enjoy the front-running.