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Hello and welcome to the Pitt football Q&A.

The Panthers are one week and one day away from opening the season. Camp is over and most of the positions have been settled. A lot of people ask me my thoughts about the season, but what they mostly want is my prediction of Pitt's record.

Look, if I could predict the future I'd be on one of those Vegas handicapper shows on the radio on Saturday mornings screaming "I LOVE THIS GAME. CALL ME!" That being said, I have been at camp every day, I've seen every practice and I have a good idea of the team's strengths and weaknesses.

I think the team will struggle to score a lot of points because I just don't see enough big-play threats. I also think the kicking game is going to be an adventure, at least until one of those two kickers gets settled in. That doesn't mean the offense can't be productive and efficienty -- there are a lot of good players and veteran players, so it will be. In college football, though, to try and grind it out every time you touch the ball is tough, and Pitt is going to have to do a lot of grinding. Those 10-play, 70-yard drives are great for controlling the ball and the clock, but to pull them off you have to be near perfect in execution. You can?t take any penalties or negative plays, and that's asking a lot.

The defense will be better. It can't be much worse than it has been in the past few years, particularly against the run. But more to the point, better players in place. The linebackers are faster, and while both Tommie Campbell and Clint Session will still overrun some plays, they are both fast enough to make other plays that most guys would only dream of making. The secondary should be very good and the defensive line will be better (I can't wait to see that group in two years). I think this defense will be opportunistic as well. I expect the defense to help the offense by getting turnovers and making big plays and providing short fields.

So what's my prediction? Well, like I said, there are too many variables to give an exact number of wins, but I see this team as something like 7-5, and that will be a good first step back towards the top of the Big East.

So let's get started ...

Q: Do you think splitting the veterans and rookies for the opening week of camp was effective? And do you sense the linemen on both sides of the ball being better?

Rich Campsie, Wexford

Zeise: To answer your first question, the first week was important more for the veterans than the rookies. The good thing about that week was that the veterans had four days where they could really get some good work in and not have to worry about being slowed by the teaching that goes on for the rookies. The drills were crisp, they were efficient and everybody got a lot of reps. The rookies meanwhile got a chance to learn at a comfortable speed. As a result, both groups were better off when they all came together.

As for the lines, yes, they are much better. The offensive line has four returning starters who spent the entire camp working together. The defensive line was so bad last year, it would be almost impossible to get worse. Doug Fulmer at end is a big upgrade, John Malecki and Jason Pinkston will help solidify the tackle spot and Chris McKillop is a year olded and more experienced in his position, too. Neither line is going to dominate anyone but both have a chance to be solid, perhaps even very good.

Q: Should we worry about the kicking game?

Jim Bowser, Freeport

Zeise: Were you at FanFest last night? Anyone who was there would probably say it is pretty clear that kicking could be a problem area unless they get some things straightened out quickly. In fairness, Conor Lee has been hampered with a hamstring injury, but Dan Hutchins has just been very inconsistent. For a team with an offense that will have to grind for every point and yard it gets, a kicking game that struggles might spell doom. The bad thing is there is no remedy if one of these two doesn't pull it together and turn nearly every kick into three points.

Q: Do you think that Doug Fulmer won his position by default or will this be a position of strength?

Will Miller, Burke, Va.

Zeise: It is tough for any redshirt freshman to line up on the defensive line and be dominant right away. This is Fulmer's first season, so he will make some mistakes and have some periods where he is inconsistent as he is still learning and growing. But he didn?t win the position by default; he won it because he is going to be a really good player and he showed as much in camp. You could make a very strong argument that not only was Fulmer the best end during camp, he was the best defensive lineman. That's saying a lot because Malecki and Gus Mustakas have been consistently very good. Like I said before, the best thing about this line is its youth. If people have a little patience they will see it blossom over the next few years into a dominant unit.

Q: Do you think the program would be served well to redshirt one of the freshmen tailbacks as well as a few of the freshmen defensive linemen?

Jamie Sykes, Oakmont, Pa.

Zeise: The problem at both of those positions is depth, or lack thereof. If Brandon Mason were still around I'd say, absolutely, redshirt Collier and give him a year in the weight room. You can?t though. He has to play because he's really an injury or two from being the starter and he will work a lot on special teams. Dorin Dickerson when healthy is too good to have sitting out, especially on an offense searching for some playmakers. The same can be said about the defensive line -- McKenzie Mathews is one of the four or five best defensive ends and Pinkston and Malecki are as good as any of the other tackles. All of those guys have to play because there aren't many alternatives.

Q: What is your opinion of H.B. Blades? Can he carry this defense?

Dan Greene, Canonsburg

Zeise: I think H.B. Blades is a warrior. He will fight tooth and nail on every play for every inch. Last year he played the first two or three games basically with one good leg and he still led the Big East in tackles by a mile. He is a good player, a leader, and here is something most people don't think about: He has never had anything close to an NFL prospect playing in front of him on the defensive line, yet he is always effective. You look at a guy like Ray Lewis from the Ravens -- his ability to fly around and make plays is a direct result of the defensive tackles he has had in front of him. They keep blocks off of him and he goes and makes plays. H.B. hasn't ever had that luxury. I don't think he can carry the defense, but I don't think many guys can. He sure as heck tried last year.

Q: With so much inconsistency at wide receiver, do you see coaches using other skill position players, such as Darrelle Revis, to help the cause?

Mark Schilajew, Huntingdon, Pa.

Zeise: Last year they had some packages to use Revis as a wide receiver in the game plan for West Virginia but didn't use them. I don't know that they would go that route simply because the biggest problem the receivers have is inexperience, not talent. And thus, the only way to get them better is to let them get out there and play. When you take an honest look at this team, it will be much better in week eight than it is right now. There are just so many young players being counted on that they can't help but get better with more experience.

Q: In the past few years West Virginia has dominated Pitt, especially in the area of team speed. Is this due to West Virginia being able to win the region?Why is this happening?

Michael Buncher, New Hope, Pa.

Zeise: First, recruiting in the "region" -- which I assume means Western Pennsylvania -- is not even close. Pitt destroys West Virginia here at home. The fact is, if Pitt and West Virginia both make an offer to a kid from Western Pennsylvania and he chooses one of the two -- Pitt gets the kid maybe 99 percent of the time. The WPIAL and City League kids on West Virginia's roster for the most part have this in common: They weren't offered a scholarship by Pitt. There are indeed two WPIAL kids in next year's class that chose WVU over an offer for Pitt, but family ties had a lot to do with both cases and neither is exactly what one would call a program-maker. Secondly, since Walt Harris revived Pitt's program in 1997, the Mountaineers and Panthers have played nine times. West Virginia has a 5-4 edge over Pitt in those games and Pitt beat WVU as recently as 2004. That's not exactly domination. The fact is Pitt and West Virginia are far more similar than dissimilar and frankly, both schools need each other far more now than ever. Nice try though.

Q: What is going on with the Michigan State game?

Joe Cippel, Ford City

Zeise: It is a noon kick-off now. The game will be on one of the ESPN networks and there will be no parking issues. Originally ABC and the Big East told Pitt they couldn't move it but relented because it became painfully obvious that the athletic department was headed for a major embarrassment.