We are closing in on 24 hours to kickoff and after watching LSU-Mississippi State and the highlights of Louisville's opener as well as Rutgers last night, I realized why not every college football game is created equal. There are a lot of blowouts every year on opening day but last night seemed to be full of them. How does that relate to Pitt? Well, I'm sure the hope among fans is that the final quarter is played by Pitt's third- and fourth-stringers and the Panthers are cruising to an easy blowout win. But the struggle against a so-called inferior opponent sometimes can be better for a young team in the long run. Consider this: That run to the Fiesta Bowl in 2004 got started (i.e. that team learned how to win close, tough games) with comebacks over Furman and Temple.

---

Q: What are the chance of getting Conredge Collins some touches this year?

Ben Crocker, Cherry Hill, N.J.

Zeise: I think he'll get a few more than he has in the past but I wouldn't expect it to be a big jump. For one thing, I'd expect LeSean McCoy to get some of the work in the one-back set that Collins got almost exclusively last year. Collins, however, will be used to catch more balls out of the backfield (it seems, based on what we've seen at camp) and he is still their best short-yardage guy, though it is tough to get moving out of the fullback spot when the O-line is getting blown up. He'll be a big part of the offense but how much of it involves him actually carrying the ball remains to be seen.

---

Q: I think back to the USF game last year where like 2 or 3 OL went down in the matter of a few plays. I think a similar scenario played out against Ohio U. the year before. What if something like that happens this year? Is there depth to keep the Pitt OL from looking like a mid-level MAC team?

Jim Black, Westerville, Ohio

Zeise: Great question. When McGlynn is healthy and ready to go (he'll dress tomorrow but I'd imagine he is not going to play), they have, I think, one legitimate reserve tackle in him and I think Dom Williams gives them a legitimate back-up guard. Craig Bokor has also played well enough that coaches feel comfortable putting him out there at guard. So, in short, I think they can have one or two (at the very most) injuries on the offense line and survive, but it is still slim pickings behind the starting five.

---

Q: With respect to your opinion of "how good" this team is, how has your view changed over the past four-six months? In other words, has this team made Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor progress since spring ball?

Don Fitch, Boston

Zeise: After watching spring ball I thought this team was going to be awful, four wins at the most. Frankly, I thought the linebackers were a mess, the quarterback play was horrible and the defensive line didn't look much better. My views have changed after training camp. The linebackers have been a very big surprise to me -- they have played really well. Bill Stull also has come on very strong and has shown he can be an effective passer, and the defensive line is deep and with a couple of these young athletic guys, like Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard, getting into the mix more and more and guys like Mick Williams and John Malecki finally healthy, I think the line has a chance to be effective. I'm not saying this is a national title contender or even a Big East title contender, but the question is about how my view of this team has changed since the spring. To answer it I'd say this -- whereas in the spring I privately thought there was no hope, I now see plenty of positive signs that tell me this season isn't going to be a total disaster and if this team could get a few breaks and a few lucky bounces -- something they haven't gotten since 2004 -- they could surprise a lot of people.