Q: A two-loss Pitt or Cincinnati team would need to perform well in their BCS game in order to keep the critics at bay, particularly if two undefeated non-BCS teams are left out and perform well in their respective bowl games. Your thoughts?

Tom Pascarella, Roselle, Ill.

ZEISE: I don't think one has anything to do with the other -- the Big East is fine, the Big East has proven it is BCS worthy, the Big East has gone 3-0 in BCS games. Nobody, other than delusional fans of other conferences, is even talking about the Big East losing its BCS bid any more and, given the results of the BCS games involving Big Ten and ACC teams recently, how could fans of either conference have anything to say? As for the non-BCS conferences, they added an extra BCS game to accommodate them so they really have nothing to worry about. Like I said, let all the games play out and then look back at what happened; don't create straw men to complain about before they actually take place. The Big East is fine and will be fine even if Cincinnati or Pitt or West Virginia loses by 30 in the BCS game (which, by the way, won't likely happen because the most likely scenario for the Big East is to play against an ACC team in the Orange Bowl and there isn't any team in that league who is blowing anyone out.

Q: I keep hearing rumors that Elijah Fields doesn't get more playing time because he doesn't know what he is doing (assignments etc.) out there. How can this be possible? He has been here for 3 years now. Is Bennett's defense that much different that Rhoads?

Becky Livingston, Jefferson Hills

ZEISE: That is not entirely true and it is more complicated than what it sounds like. Elijah Fields is being asked to play a number of different positions and coaches believe he can help them more playing a hybrid safety/linebacker type of position than limiting him to a safety spot. He has been asked to play a different position in all of the sub packages and different defenses and he has been used in different games with different matchups. They like his ability to cover and his ability to stop the run because of his size and they think they are wasting him if he is not doing more than just hanging back as a safety. So he's being asked to absorb a lot of stuff and his playing time has increased tremendously over the past two games. I'd expect him to see the field a lot tonight because of the matchup with Cincinnati's spread offense.

Q: Looking into the future, wouldn't it be better to add the right teams so the conference could become a super conference, split into two divisions and have a conference championship game? I would think that this would be more lucrative for the conference in the long run. Also, if that would/could happen, who would you think would be candidate teams? Notre Dame, Penn State, Army, Navy? One last thing, I have a friend in Michigan and he said that last year the Big Ten (11) within the past year kicked around who they could add as a 12th team to make a super conference and said that Pitt was mentioned just because they are a natural rival for Penn St. Any thoughts that this might happen?

Chipper Fait, North Huntingdon

ZEISE: I think the Big East would do well if it could get to 10 teams in football. But the right two teams might not exist for that to make sense. Obviously if Notre Dame said they want to join a conference it would be a perfect solution since they are already a conference member in every other sport, thus you wouldn't have to add a football-only member or make your basketball conference any bigger. I suppose if Villanova ever wanted to move up from I-AA and play big-time football, it would be a similar situation. Neither seems to be even remotely likely to happen, so to discuss them as possibilities seems like a waste of time. Ditto Penn State leaving the Big Ten, particularly since the Big Ten is an academic conference as much as a sports conference I don't think the administration would want to pull away from that aspect of the Big Ten. And Army and Navy both have said repeatedly they don't think they could compete in the Big East and would rather have more flexibility in scheduling. In other words, there just doesn't seem to be a reasonable answer unless you can find someone willing to be a football only member because nobody wants to go beyond 16 teams in basketball. And I think what we've learned from the ACC is that having a conference game is not a cash cow or a big-time moneymaker if (a) nobody cares about it and (b) nobody buys tickets to it. In fact, the ACC championship game is an annual embarrassment and reminder to all that bigger is not always better. I mean, seriously, can you imagine what the crowd is going to be like for that, oh I don't know -- what it is it now -- Boston College-North Carolina clash? How about Virginia-Wake Forest? Boy, that'll pack them in ...