Nihilist Football Picks: Pro Week 1/College Week 2

Last week I expected glory, jumping out to a 2-0 start as Jerry Kill's Gophers showed some grit and Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish puked all over themselves. In a Saturday night battle of heavyweights, I misjudged the home field advantage that LSU rode to an easy victory over my pick, the Oregon Ducks.

I'm sitting at 2-1 in college, with the pro season starting this week. My loosely constructed theme for this week is overvalued home field advantage. I've got two road dogs covering in each league. Exceptions to the rule will include a Gopher squad that takes on a pathetic foe and a slightly favored Cleveland Browns team. Odds from USA Today:

College:
Minnesota -18 1/2 over New Mexico
Brigham Young +7 at Texas
Notre Dame +3 1/2 at Michigan

The Irish look to rebound from a devastating loss in the first night game ever in the appropriately nicknamed "Big House." Notre Dame needs this game and has the talent to win outright on the road.

Pro
Cleveland -2 1/2 versus Cincinnati
Dallas +4 at NY Jets
Minnesota +9 at San Diego

I'm not a homer, but the Vikings aren't quite as bad as people think they are. They are still 7-9 bad, but they should be able to hang with a team that never plays up to their capabilities in September.