Jets at Browns Kick Starts NFL Week 4 Plus Our College Goodies
Submitted by Jim Hurley on Thursday, September 20, 2018 at 12:00 AM
IT’S JETS VS. BROWNS TO OPEN NFL WEEK 3 ACTION …
THE COLLEGE GRIDIRON REPORT:
OUR JIM SEZ TOP 10 PLUS MUCH MORE!
Weeks before this here-and-now 2018 NFL season ever started, folks were wondering about just how the New York Jets would handle the start of their campaign:
Three games in a span of 11 days would test any NFL team but this is a squad starting a 21-year-old quarterback – the youngest player ever to start at that position in league history – and that would be a major challenge but then the J-E-T-S pummeled TD-favored Detroit 48-17 in a Week 1 Monday Night Football affair before flopping face-first 20-12 last Sunday at home against Miami.
Now, here come the Jets back onto the prime-time scene and you wonder if there won’t be some real fatigue here …
Then again, who’s the say the Cleveland Browns won’t come into this game with a bit of mental fatigue following on the heels of that season-opening 21-all OT tie against Pittsburgh and that hard-to-digest 21-18 loss-but-cover last Sunday at 9.5-point fav New Orleans? Our preview follows this important reminder that …
Jim Hurley and his Network of Handicappers and Bloggers have the Side / Totals winners in tonight’s New York Jets at Cleveland Browns game to kick off NFL Week 3 play plus straight ahead there’s a load of College Football, more NFL Week 3 and Major-League Baseball winners! So, go ahead and call us at our toll-free telephone # of 1-800-323-4453 or get the winners right here online at www.jimhurley.com – just keep on cashin’ all month long!
NEW YORK JETS (1-1) at CLEVELAND (0-1-1) – 8:20 p.m. ET, NFL Network
So, let’s see: The Browns enter this tilt without a win in their last 19 consecutive games while the Jets are asking kid QB Sam Darnold (a 66 percent passer with 532 yards and 3 TDs / 3 INTs) to lead ‘em to the promised land even though the former USC slinger had a bunch of “rookie mistakes” in last week’s loss to the Fish. Darnold already has found a new favorite receiver in WR Quincy Enunwa (13 catches, 155 yards and a TD) but Todd Bowles’ better step up the ground game production or else Darnold’s gonna be fac down on the turf a few more times here. On the flip side, Cleveland’s hinting that star WR Jarvis Landry (knee) won’t play here and so QB Tyrod Taylor – who’s been a tad erratic thus far – may need rokkie WR Antonio Callaway to hit another “home run” following his 47-yard scoring grab late against the Saints last weekend.
The Browns have been sitting there as firm 3-point betting favorites all week long – the question is the “right” team favored?
Spread Notes – The Browns are 10-21-3 ATS (against the spread) as betting favorites while dating back to the start of the 2008 season and that includes an 0-1 spread log as chalk under third-year head coach Hue Jackson; The Jets, meanwhile, are just 6-9-2 vig-wise away since the start of 2016 but overall NYJ’s 7-4-1 ATS when facing non-AFC East foes in their last dozen non-divisional games.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL UPDATE
Let’s kick things off in the College Football world with our up-to-the-minute Jim Sez Top 10 …
JIM SEZ COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 10
1 – Alabama
2 – Georgia
3 -- Clemson
4 -- Ohio State
5 – Oklahoma
6 – LSU
7 – Stanford
8 – Penn State
9 – Notre Dame
10 – Oklahoma State
Here’s some items we’re tracking as we head towards this week’s action …
On Friday night, there are a pair of nationally-ranked teams in action including Penn State (our #8 team, AP #10) at four-TD underdog Illinois along with Florida Atlantic at two-TD favorite #16 UCF. Hey, the UCF Knights (2-0) have not lost since the 2016 Cure Bowl and there’s a clear path to another New Year’s Day Bowl bid now that Boise State’s been banged out from the ranks of the unbeaten. Still, UCF – now 17-8 ATS in their last 25 games – should not expect a cakewalk here considering Josh Heupel’s crew comes off an unscheduled bye (see postponed game against North Carolina last weekend) and QB McKenzie Milton’s already thrown three interceptions. Is this a closer-than-you-think game here? …
Finally, handicappers – like us! – are wondering if there will be a few “let down” games on Saturday’s docket?
Keep in mind that Syracuse is laying four TDs against visiting UConn with the ‘Cuse Orange fresh off last weekend’s 30-7 win against Florida State;
Then there’s LSU laying a three-TD price against in-state foe Louisiana Tech: The Bayou Boys roared back for a 22-21 outright upset at 10-point favorite Auburn last Saturday but gotta believe Ed Orgeron’s crew probably spent a few days partying it up after that big win;
And San Diego State is a hefty 11-point home favorite against Eastern Michigan. The SDSU Aztecs got a favorable late-game call en route to last weekend’s 28-21 win against 5-point fav Arizona State but is it wise to lay a twin-figure price with your backup quarterback getting the start here for the home favs?
NOTE: Get more College Football updates plus NFL Week 3 goodies in the next edition.