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Q: Is it just me or are people in the Q&A unreasonably hard on Bill Stull? It seems to me he is a HUGE upgrade over any of the alternatives. He seems perfect for the West Coast offense. I think the last few weeks (even the Rutgers disaster) the offense with Stull at QB has been very good. Your thoughts?

Srikant Narasimham, Washington D.C.

ZEISE: He is the quarterback of a Pittsburgh team -- what do you expect. And yes, you are right, he is head and shoulders above anyone else they could put in there at this point. I don't know that he is the perfect fit for the West Coast offense, but he certainly is the right guy for Pitt because he has a lot of intangibles, he is a guy who is a leader and he is a guy who is mentally tough. And he throws the ball well enough that he makes enough plays to make people respect Pitt's passing game. And I'd agree, the offense has gotten better and is certainly more versatile than it was last year.

Q: After nine games, the Panthers are averaging just over four penalties a game costing them just 33 yards per game. Unlike previous seasons, this team is getting away from beating themselves in critical situations by avoiding the penalty bug. Sure there have been times when confusion has resulted in taking an ill-advised timeout but it sure beats a penalty or busted play. That's all about good coaching and teaching discipline to your players. Do you agree?

Tom Richards, Manassas, Va.

ZEISE: Coaching has been very good in this area. There seems to be a renewed focus and discipline with this team, but a lot of that is just maturity. While it speaks to discipline I think it speaks to confidence -- the team is confident in itself now and isn't doing dumb things or lazy things that lead to penalties. Also the experience factor is huge -- the team understands what it is supposed to do now and does it better than it used to.

Q: If Bowling Green can win one of it's last two games (and Louisville and Rutgers can win one more) that would mean Pitt could potentially have played eleven bowl eligible teams by season's end. Do you think preseason perception is given too much weight considering Pitt's schedule looks a lot stronger than it did at the beginning of the year?

Damien Pawnno, Pittsburgh

ZEISE: Well, there is some weight given to the preseason hype surrounding teams -- but only until the games begin. Once the games begin, all bets are off and all of that stuff goes out the window. I never judge a team -- or a schedule -- until all the games have been played because it is ridiculous. It is also more ridiculous when people claim victories over ranked opponents early in the season -- when those rankings are just guesses. I always say -- you didn't beat a ranked opponent until said opponent is still ranked when the final polls come out because that is a true gauge of how good they really are over 12 games. I think Pitt has played a good schedule, I don't think it was a great schedule, but is a good schedule. And I think most people thought Buffalo and Bowling Green were going to be good teams as both were considered among the preseason favorites in the MAC.