Pitt survived a scare versus Syracuse. And the best that you can say about the game is that it was a win -- and a win these days is a good thing and a welcome change.

I know it was only Syracuse -- which, by the way is every bit as bad -- if not worse than -- those old Temple and Rutgers teams that used to bottom feed the Big East. Like I wrote Sunday, since the Navy game last season this team is 6-4 with wins over Cincinnati, West Virginia, Iowa and have won four of those six games after trailing in the second half. In the 10 games leading up to and including that Navy game (against I-A competition) the Panthers were 1-9. So that's a big swing.

Still, you have to wonder whether it has truly turned the corner when the Panthers are still scratching, clawing and fighting tooth and nail to win over teams like Buffalo, Iowa and Syracuse. I think Thursday night, we'll get a much better idea about this team because South Florida is the kind of team that could take Pitt to the woodshed if the Panthers aren't ready to play and don't play a perfect game.

I don't think the Panthers have to win to show they've made progress, but they can't get their doors blown off and they can't look like the Keystone Cops running around with a comedy of turnovers, special team's gaffes (by the way, who was that, um, "genius" that wrote a story last week about the special teams being so much improved this year? Well, hey at least Conor Lee was good against Syracuse), bad play calls, poor execution, missed tackles, etc., etc. If Pitt plays well and gets beat in a close game because South Florida is a little better, I think that would make a bigger statement than any game they've won so far.

As for the Syracuse game, here is a quick review:

The Good: I believe last week I wrote that there are four genuine playmakers on this offense that might scare a defense -- LaRod Stephens-Howling, LeSean McCoy, Jonathan Baldwin and Greg Cross. Three out of the four got a chance to do something Saturday and came up in a big way, even if Baldwin only had two opportunities. McCoy and Stephens-Howling were the two best players on the field in a lot of ways, and that is how it should be. This team will only win if the game is given to those guys. Also, the offensive line has played fairly well now for three consecutive weeks, and while they weren't exactly going against the "Steel Curtain" on Saturday, they clearly won the battle of physical in the second half. Robb Houser has been a very good find for this team and Jason Pinkston is really turning into a good player -- he is still far from reaching his potential -- and John Malecki is perhaps the most consistent player on the team. The defense was terrible in the first half, but give that unit credit: It did come to play in the second half and helped turn the game around with some big plays. And, as we said before, Conor Lee is money and when you have a kicker that can score points for an offense while it is struggling, it is a huge advantage and is the kind of thing that keeps a team in games. While I know it is fashionable to bash Matt Cavanaugh, he deserves a lot of credit because I thought he called an excellent game, particularly once it was clear that Stull wasn't playing very well. Say what you want about falling behind to a team like Syracuse, but there is something to be said when a team can come from behind on the road despite all of the things that went wrong in the first half.

The Bad: The secondary was spinning around like ballerinas doing pirouettes in the first three quarters -- and managed to make Cam Dantley look like Donovan McNabb. I mean, Aaron Berry, who is usually one of the best players on the team, was toasted a few times, missed some tackles and got a huge pass interference penalty (on an uncatchable ball I might add). Then Elijah Fields got toasted so they took him out and put Dom DeCicco in and he gave up some big throws and got crossed up in one coverage. It was certainly not the secondary's finest hour, to say the least. The outside linebackers were feast or famine; but too often Greg Williams looked lost. And while the defensive line showed up big in the fourth quarter did any of those guys even make a tackle in the first three quarters? And then there is Bill Stull, who, missed too many passes, bailed out on too many plays (if he stands in on the wheel/circle route to LaRod Stephens-Howling it is a touchdown, instead he bails out, throws off his back foot and nearly gets picked off) and just wasn't very accurate. To his credit, he has been a leader for this team emotionally and he hasn't made the fatal mistakes of last year, but he needs to play much, much better and I think the most disappointing thing thus far is his lack of accuracy -- which is supposed to be his strongest point. Yes, the receivers dropped a few passes, but they were also some very easy throws that were missed as well.

The Ugly: A week after the special teams units had one of the best games since I've been covering the team, they were for the most part a train wreck. Aaron Berry did have one decent punt return, but that seems to be an adventure every time Pitt is lining up to receive a punt. The 90-yard touchdown given up on a kick-off return was unbelievable in that, all the guy had to do was run straight up the field, I don't think he even made a move (perhaps he did make the kicker miss) and nobody touched him. I don't think I've ever seen that. Punter Dave Brytus was spraying his punts every where and the high angling kickoff thing is, well, like punt returns an adventure. What happened to the kid they recruited from Ohio who could kick it through the end zone? And then there is receiver Oderick Turner, who continues to be the starter even though he drops as many as he catches. Twice he had a chance to make plays for the Panthers in the first half and both times he dropped very catchable balls. He needs to become more consistent catching the ball.

Q: On one hand Pitt had to rally to beat one of the worst teams in college football. On the other hand they scored the last 21 points, and held a significant edge in yardage gained. As a Pitt fan, should I look at the game as a glass half full or half empty?

Mark Schilajew, Huntingdon

ZEISE: That is a tremendous question. I'm sure we will have a better answer after Thursday's game against South Florida but people need to remember this: Until the win over Cincinnati last season -- which was the 30th game of the Dave Wannstedt era -- the Panthers had never come from behind to win a game they were losing in the second half. Now they've done it four times in the past 10 games. Think about that for a minute: It took 30 games to figure out how to come from behind to win a game and now they've done it two weeks in a row. That says something about the growth of the character of this team and it says something about the ability of this team to shake off adversity when things go wrong. So that's a good thing. By the same token, the silly mistakes, dropped passes, bad tackling that went on in the first half of that game is something that cannot be ignored, either. But still, a win is a win and really once they did fall so far behind, the only goal had to become find a way to win the game and they did that -- and in the process might have saved the season -- and they've now won three in a row, so there are some definite positives to come out of it.

Q: What type of running back can (or should, will) McCoy become? Is he a pounding running back like one in the Iowa team? Is he more of a "Parker" type back? Is he overrated?

Young Lee, Pittsburgh

ZEISE: I think the Willie Parker comparison is fair in that he is fast and can break long runs, but he's been at his best when he runs like he did Saturday against Syracuse and last season against West Virginia: Pound it in there between the tackles. He can get tough yards and finish runs as well as any back I can remember -- WHEN -- he wants to or is determined too. In other words, there are times when is doing too much dancing, trying too hard to make every run an 80-yard run and trying to look pretty. Usually, those runs and those games when he is doing that, are very much underwhelming. But when he comes out with his physical mindset and is determined to follow his blocks and run the ball north-south, that's when you can see how special of a back he is because that's when he rips off those runs of 4,5,4,6,5,4, then all of the sudden takes one 35 and he looks up at the end of the day and he has 150 yards rushing. I think he is still young, he just needs to develop more consistency in his mindset and once he does that he'll be really something to watch.

Q: Could please review for us the decision to go with Bill Stull over Pat Bostick? I am just not seeing it. Two straight games I have seen him go the wrong way on handoffs, his accuracy has been terrible and he almost made costly interceptions. I think head-to-head in the spring game and all of the scrimmages from training camp, I believe Bostick had better numbers and I am just puzzled as to why he hasn't been given a chance to play.

Jon D., Reading

ZEISE: I think it has been pretty obvious that Bill Stull has to play much better than he has and yes, there have been times when you say to yourself "I wonder why Pat Bostick isn't warming up," but the truth is, Stull has done some good things. I think his presence as a leader in the huddle and his toughness can't be underestimated, the players seem to respond to him and frankly he sort of personifies the idea of "sawing wood" (you know, keep sawing wood, keep fighting and sooner or later you'll cut the log or whatever) because he's a fighter. And frankly, one thing he has done much better than last year's quarterbacks is protect the ball, avoid those killer mistakes -- the picks that killed this team last year. He has kept the ball for the most part out of harm's way and given the defense a chance. Think about it -- the difference between Michigan State last year and Iowa this year? Simple -- Pitt handed the Spartans 17 points due to turnovers and only handed Iowa three. That's a significant development. And another thing, to be fair -- Stull's receivers have dropped too many passes. There is no question he needs to play better, there is no question he is missing throws, but I think it is too early to start to panic and make a quarterback change because I think he'll get better the more he plays.