Pitt Q&A

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Q: What team's offense does Cincinnati's resemble? And what do we need to do to stop it?

Tom Tupa, Pittsburgh

ZEISE: It is a spread offense but a lot of teams use spreads so that word is no longer meaningful because so many of them are so different. So to be more specific, I've watched them play twice this year and I'd say it is sort of a mix of West Virginia and Texas Tech. They do some read option stuff with the quarterback running and they do a lot of five-wide, empty sets and whatnot. They don't seem to throw the ball down the field a lot, they have a very good controlled passing game and a quarterback that makes plays. The key for the Panthers will be tackling. You can't miss tackles in the open field because so many of the plays in a spread offense -- the entire premise of the offense -- is to get skilled guys in one-on-one situations all across the field. That puts pressure on the defense to make tackles and keep the three-yard passes at three yards, etc. I'd expect to see a lot of Pitt's subpackages on defense: The three-man lines with eight in the back, the four-man lines with one linebacker and six defensive backs, etc.

Q: Cincinnati is currently 8-2 and has three remaining games: Pitt, Syracuse, and Hawaii. That would give them a total of 13 games for the season excluding a bowl game. Pitt plays only 12 games before going to a bowl. What gives? Why the difference is the number of games? Thanks!

Ted Lion, Pittsburgh

ZEISE: Well there is a rule known as the Hawaii exception which states that a team from the mainland who plays at Hawaii can schedule an extra game at home. It is an incentive for teams to play at Hawaii because the Rainbows used to have trouble finding opponents to come to them. By giving this exception -- because it is such a long, expensive trip -- teams can compensate for it with an extra game, presumably at home, and thus make up for it. That's why the Bearcats have an extra game.

Q: Looking ahead to 2009, who does Pitt have as place kicker since Conner Lee will graduate after this season? I seem to remember there was a kicker from Ohio that was all state or something that we gave a scholarship to. Is that true and I am assuming he redshirted?

Lloyd Fait, North Huntingdon

ZEISE: Yes, Nick Harper is at Pitt, he is a redshirtting. He is a freshman from Mentor, Ohio and he was recruited to be the heir apparent to Conor Lee. However, the back-up kicker, Dan Hutchins, is a sophomore from Williamsport, Pa. and he is going to give Harper a lot of competition for the job, so Harper will have to earn it. Hutchins will also compete for the punter's job next year.