Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com has lots of love for Pitt and Coach Wannstedt, but will likely piss off the Domers after this chat session (Insider Subs. req’d).

Bryan (Fayetteville): Can Notre Dame finish in the top10 this year?

Bruce Feldman: (3:10 PM ET ) no..I think the D, especially the pass D, is terrible. They’ll score points but not enough.
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Brian (Heinz Field, PA): Can Wannstedt get Pitt to the next level…which was a criticism of Walt Harris?

Bruce Feldman: (3:21 PM ET ) yes, I think that was a very good hire. He’s doing very well recruiting in the pitt area something walt didn’t do very well
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Michael (Colorado Springs): Who was the best off-season hire and why?

Bruce Feldman: (3:40 PM ET ) Wannstedt as HC I think although I am a big believer in mark snyder and think he will revitalize marshall
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Brian (Lake Worth, FL): Is it fair to say that the winner of Pitt/Louisville in early November will win the Big East?
Bruce Feldman: (3:42 PM ET ) yes!
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TJ (LA): Wannestadt better than Weis?

Bruce Feldman: (3:44 PM ET ) Yes.
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mark (tennessee): dave has had zero sucess as a head coach, and i understand the jury is stillout, but why such a cut and dried yes hes better than charie?

Bruce Feldman: (4:05 PM ET ) I think he’s a better fit for that program. I think Weis will have a harder time recruiting. The expectations are too high and it sounds like he is coming in there convinced he is just going to outsmart all these other coaches. I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.

About the only thing I’ll say in defense of Charlie Weis is that his confidence may be overblown by the media. It could be argued he is trying to bring back the Irish swagger, and the fans and media coverage are convinced that he can outsmart everyone else.

One way or the other, in a week Pitt or ND faithful are about to have expectations tempered.

Paul Zeise’s Q&A came up late today, but it is a complete must read. This one is just outstanding for so many reasons. He gives some solid opinions and complete thoughts on the team and positions. Not just easy answers.

Q: What is your best guess at who of the true freshmen will be most important to the team’s success and also could you name an additional five that will be important over the next four or five years?

ZEISE: The true freshman most likely to play and contribute this year are Tommie Campbell, Rashaad Duncan, Rashad Jennings, LaRod Stephens and Gus Mustakas. If Tyler Palko goes down, well, then the most important of them all is obviously Bill Stull.

As for the long term – the most important ones are John Bachman, John Brown, Craig Bokor, John Brown, C.J. Davis, Duncan, Derrell Jones and Mustakas. I mean, face it — the difference between Pitt and the elite in college football is the offensive and defensive lines. These two areas are where Pitt needs the biggest upgrades. All of these guy have talent, but they need to develop into real players in order for Pitt to get to that so-called “next level” or even take a step forward.

[Emphasis added.]

Zeise’s notebooks are very good during the week, but I’ve actually become a fan of his over the last couple of years because of his Q&As. They let his personality and something of his humor shine through a lot more in his responses.