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Q: Not that I normally would complain on things such as officiating, but I feel some of what has been going on in the Big East this season has been beyond bizarre. Citing just this past PITT/Rutgers matchup and the UConn/Louisville games as examples ... both of which had horrible calls. What is actually accomplished when the coach submits a complaint with the Big East? Does it result in anything at all?

John Brainard, Pittsburgh

ZEISE: The Big East officiating has been less than stellar this year, there is no doubt about it. It has been embarrassingly bad in some cases, like the UConn-Louisville game. By the same token, when coaches submit complaints to the league office and continually complain about the same officials making the same bad calls or missing calls, something will happen. And based on some discussions I have had recently, I'll be shocked if the Big East's officiating lineup doesn't have a few changes for next season. There are a couple of key officials who need to, as Chuck Noll would say, get on with their life's work.

Q: With the success of the PITT defense this year, does that mean that Rhoads keeps his job? Defense has kept us in so many games while the offense let us down, is it fair to make Rhoads the scapegoat?

Rob Q., Oakland

ZEISE: The offseason will bring some changes, no doubt, but I know Dave Wannstedt believes in Paul Rhoads and doesn't think he is a part of the problem. The defense has played very well down the stretch and I think if you have a defense ranked in the top 10, it would be pretty hard to justify firing the guy responsible for it. I know Paul Rhoads has been a lightning rod -- and some of it justifiably so because the defense was poor at certain points over the past few years -- but I will say now what I have said countless times before -- Paul Rhoads is a good football coach. He is very organized, very enthusiastic, understands defense, is a good teacher and a good role model. If you talk to other coaches, they'll tell you as much and if you watch the guy teach every day, it is clear he is a good coach.