Q: OK, cut through the BS -- what is your prediction for this team?

Frank Wayne, Jefferson Hills

ZEISE: I usually don't give predictions per se, other than to give a range of where a team should be and so here is what I'll say. I see a team, who, if it plays well, should be 8-4. In other words, the talent level on this team is, from what I can see and based on experience and knowing what kind of schedule it is going to face, good enough that it is very fair to expect eight wins from it. So eight is the cut-off in my book and less than eight is underachieving while more than eight is overachieving. So if you ask me what I am expecting from this team I'll say 8-4, though I could make a very strong case for 10-2 or 5-7 if you'd really like me to.

Q: If you had to compare this year's team to any of PITT's teams of the past ... what year would it be?

Core Preitt, Dinero, Mont.

ZEISE: I think the 2001 team -- which is scary because that team began 1-5 (I know, I know, Walt and the spread, Walt and the spread -- I've heard it, I get it -- but it wasn't the spread that allowed BC to roll up 45 points against them, Syracuse to roll 42 against them and it certainly wasn't Walt and the spread that couldn't stop South Florida's offense -- South Florida playing in its second game as Division I-A team by the way??????.) before finally righting the ship and finishing with six consecutive wins, including a Tangerine Bowl win over North Carolina State. But if you remember that team, it was a team with a lot of talented younger players with some experience at a lot of positions. It was a team that had a very good defense and it had an excellent running back and set of receivers. Unfortunately, it was a team that badly underachieved in the first half of the season -- but by the end of the season could have played with almost anybody in the country (don't forget that team stomped a top ten Virginia Tech team 38-7). I think this team is very similar from the standpoint of -- it is finally Dave Wannstedt's players growing up and now having their time to shine. And it is for that reason -- a lot of youth with room to grow -- I expect this team to be much better at the end of the season than it was at the start of it. The main difference obviously is that team had a veteran quarterback, but Stull is in his fourth-year in the program, so he isn't exactly a wide-eyed rookie.

Q: It doesn't look like Coach Wannstedt is too happy with Joe Thomas. What are the chances of Lucas Nix starting at right tackle? And if he does start, how much of a challenge is it for a freshman to make the jump from high school offensive line to Division I offensive line?

Joe Lucko, Elizabeth

ZEISE: Joe Thomas just hasn't had a great camp. He has been OK but he has been very inconsistent and as Dave Wannstedt said, his ceiling is not nearly as high as Lucas Nix's. Now, Thomas is going to begin the season as the starter but the bottom line is he will have Nix on his heels the entire year. And while most guys aren't really ready to step in and start at offensive tackle their freshman season, Nix is one of the most highly-ranked offensive linemen Pitt has ever signed for a very good reason -- his upside is very high. I mean, he is 6-feet-6, 300 pounds and he moves very well, so if anyone could make a transition like that it would be him.