Q: Now that Joe Thomas has been improving each game and looks solid, do you think the coaches regret not redshirting Lucas Nix? We are halfway through the season and and he's only played a few snaps.

Thomas Mikeska, Pittsburgh

ZEISE: I don't know if they regret playing him but there is no doubt it really has been a waste of a redshirt year for Nix, considering he's played like a total of 10 plays, if that many. I understand that Thomas has played well but once it was determined that Lucas Nix was your third best tackle -- he should have been used a little bit more each game -- and on both sides. Both could use a break here and there and since he is not redshirtting now, why not get him some real experience? I understand that the situations haven't always dictated it -- but he's held his own in his limited opportunity so he needs to play more.

Q: Looking at the bowl picture, should Pitt fans be rooting for or against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Could they not beat ND, knock them out of any BCS contention and end up losing the Gator Bowl to them in the process?

George Shaffer, Morgantown

ZEISE: I think it is really not something Pitt should worry about. The Panthers haven't been to a bowl game for three years so, while expectations are high and fans want a BCS bowl, if Pitt wins nine or ten games and goes to a bowl, any bowl, it should be cause for celebration. As for Notre Dame, the Irish are not going to a BCS game (they look like an 8-4 team) so I think this might be their year to play in the Gator Bowl regardless of what Pitt does against them.

Q: Are the BCS conferences weaker than they have ever been? My impression is that only the SEC is a true power conference and then there is everyone else.

Ryan Kennedy, Savannah, Georgia

ZEISE: I think Big 12 and SEC are strong -- though the SEC is annually overrated a little bit based on actual results in out-of-conference games and bowl games. But Georgia, Florida, LSU and Alabama are all legitimate top 10 teams. And in the Big 12, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma,Texas Tech and Oklahoma State all appear to be top-10 caliber teams. After that, however, fans of the ACC, Pac 10 or Big Ten who criticize the Big East for being weak are delusional. The Pac 10 and the Big Ten are as bad as I can remember either being. Both are awful. They are literally one team deep -- and there is a big drop after that one team in each league. The ACC is an absolute disaster, though it appears as if Florida State, Miami and North Carolina are on the rise again and in a year or two might be the kinds of powerhouses that drive a conference back to respectability.