Don’t look now, but your Pitt Panther football team currently sits at second place in the Big… Don’t look now, but your Pitt Panther football team currently sits at second place in the Big East.

Three consecutive wins behind an offense that is finally hitting its stride has caught some attention and brought the bandwagon fans back in line for a seat.

But the season is far from over.

Pitt’s final three games could easily be the toughest on the schedule. A trip to Louisville precedes a matchup with the Connecticut Huskies, who upset the Panthers last year.

Then Morgantown waits for a Thanksgiving visit with a possible Big East title on the line. Let’s see what’s on your mind as Pitt sets to begin the final stretch of the 2005 season.

Q: Does Pitt have a real chance of beating Louisville next week? And if they don’t, will it be considered a letdown?

A: Yes, they most certainly have a real chance.

There’s even a chance that Pitt could be favored. I know that seems like a stretch, but look where the two teams are right now.

Pitt, at 4-4, has won four of its last five games and is looking very much like the same Panther team that finished up last season with a Bowl Championship Series bid.

Louisville, on the other hand, just picked up its first Big East win last week, with a victory over Cincinnati. The Cardinals’ five wins have come against less-than-stellar teams, and when faced with a big game, they haven’t been able to produce.

South Florida blew them out 45-14 in their first ever Big East game, and they gave up a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter against West Virginia in a triple-overtime loss.

Louisville has fallen hard this season with those two losses and is desperately looking to get back in the national spotlight at Pitt’s expense.

However, each game from here on out becomes bigger than the last for Pitt, and any one they lose would be a letdown at this point.

Q: Could Derek Kinder take Greg Lee’s place as the top wideout by season’s end?

A: No. Not a chance.

I’m just as glad as you are about the progress Kinder has made so far this season, but let’s not get carried away.

Remember, if it weren’t for the bad start the passing game had, then Joe DelSardo may very well have been starting at receiver and not Kinder.

Lee may drop a pass here and there and not outrun a defensive back from time to time, but he puts up numbers. Teams remember the numbers he put up last year, and they notice what he’s done this year.

This, obviously, brings some double coverage to Lee’s side and just more attention than what any other receiver on the team garners.

So, Kinder’s emergence, as well as Darrell Strong’s, has really put a boost into the passing game, and I bet no one believes that more than Tyler Palko himself.

But Lee is still the number one guy and will be for the rest of this season. If he returns next year, then he’ll hold that spot again. Kinder, though, will be waiting in line for his time to shine.

Q: If Pitt beats Louisville, could they blow it against Connecticut, even though the Huskies aren’t good on the road?

A: Yeah, they could, and I don’t think the fact that the Huskies will be on the road plays into my decision, either.

What will bother the Huskies about playing Pitt at Heinz Field?

The last time I checked, Heinz Field doesn’t get too packed for a Pitt game, even in the student section, so I don’t think there’s much of a hostile environment providing home-field advantage like there would be if the game was at Connecticut.

This isn’t a Steelers game – we’re talking about the Panthers.

Last season, the Huskies upset the Panthers at home, and that stadium was filled to capacity with Huskies fans, unlike what Heinz Field will be.

That being said, the Huskies will have upset on their mind, and that’s what will matter. Any time a team goes on the road with a chance to upset another’s chance at a possible BCS bid, they’re ready to play.

And I’m sure Connecticut will be ready to go.

Q: Is Wannstedt off the hook now for criticism of the slow start?

A: I believe he should be.

Look, implementing a new offense with a team not equipped with that type of player is one thing. Doing it at the collegiate level is another.

This isn’t the National Football League. College football teams have less time to prepare for the season with their coaches, including not playing any preseason games to work out the little kinks.

That being said, Wannstedt has rebounded nicely and has his team playing well at the moment. I wasn’t lying two weeks ago when I said Pitt’s best days with Wannstedt are in the near future.

Remember, too, you can’t blame all the losses on the coach. In at least two of those games, the Panthers were in position to win and the players didn’t execute.

Have a question for Alan? Send it to [email protected] and it may appear in next Thursday’s edition of “Q+A with Alan Smodic.”