ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Injuries, big games and lots of other news from the weekend make for plenty of reader e-mails. Let's get to them.

Eric from Charleston, W. Va., writes: Huge 'Eers fan here, but my question is actually about another Big East team. I love to see our conference do well just so we can shut up the naysayers. I root for all Big East teams (yes, even Pitt) except when they're up against WVU, which brings me to my question: I was really hoping to see USF beat the tar out of FSU this week, but without Matt Grothe it will be tough. Can Grothe apply for a medical redshirt and become one of those 10th year seniors next year? Would love to get another crack at him in Motown.

Brian Bennett: Eric, he can apply for one, but my understanding is that would be highly unlikely that the NCAA would approve. Grothe already took a redshirt year, and in those cases, the NCAA usually only grants a sixth year if there are special circumstances. For instance, Pitt's Adam Gunn suffered a broken neck in the first game last year and was given a sixth year. Since Grothe played all the way up until the second quarter of the third game, I don't think he has much of a case.

And I think he's probably ready to go and try his luck in pro football rather than spend another year in college. One good thing is that Grothe told me this summer that he was only taking two classes this semester -- one of them is an online course, the other is golf -- and he will graduate in December.

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Andrew P. from NYC writes: Has anyone questioned Jim Leavitt on why Matt Grothe was still in the game when the Bulls were up 28-0 late in the second quarter? I my opinion, this game was a glorified scrimmage; Grothe should have played as little as possible.

Brian Bennett: I had a few e-mails asking questions along these lines. I think Leavitt was kind of in a tough spot here. Yes, the Bulls were playing an overmatched opponent. But Grothe hadn't gotten a ton of work this season because of the three weak opponents, and he needed to be sharp for the Florida State game.

The sad part is, Grothe probably was on his last series when he got injured. I can't really blame Leavitt, because it was a freak play where Grothe got injured, and the quarterback had been so durable in the past. It could have happened at any time. Also, what if Grothe had been pulled in the first quarter and then came out and threw a bunch of interceptions in Tallahassee? People would be saying Leavitt should have played him more the week before.

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T.K. from Pittsburgh writes: Big East nonconference opponents have a combined record of 13-6. Losses include: Navy @ Ohio State, Minnesota vs Cal, FIU @ Alabama and ECU @ UNC. There's no way of knowing how difficult the strength-of-schedule has been. Maybe Baylor, Oregon State and Navy will finish in the top 25. Maybe Northwestern will win the Big Ten. Haha, serious.

Brian Bennett: Thanks for pointing that out, T.K. The Big East hasn't played a murderers' row schedule, but it hasn't been too shabby, either.

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Ryan J. from Madison, W.Va., writes: It seems that the Mountaineer fans are down and having doubts about the QB. I feel that we put up good numbers, but the turnovers destroyed us. Anyway, if we keep the turnovers down and play fundamental football what are the chances of us bringing the Big East title back to Morgantown?

Brian Bennett: Turnovers are no doubt what is killing this team, because it is extremely talented at the skill positions. I think Jarrett Brown will be all right. The guy can make plays that almost no one else can with his feet and arm; he just needs to learn how to harness it a little bit. West Virginia has the potential to beat everybody else on its schedule.

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Brandon from Pittsburgh: How does Pitt get snubbed for the top 25? After a 27-14 win against Navy, which really wasn't that close, Pitt got only 5 more votes than after a 54-27 win at Buffalo. ... How does a Washington team that beat USC at home get in front of Pitt? Yes, they beat USC, but the Trojans had their back-up quarterback and had key turnovers at key times during the game. If Pitt would play Washington at a neutral site, I would think that Pitt holds the advantage in most match-ups. So, what keeps Pitt unranked in Week 4?

Brian Bennett: As I've said before, I can't explain why voters do what they do, because there seems to be very little logic involved most of the time. For example, in the AP poll, Oklahoma is nine spots ahead of BYU even though BYU beat the Sooners in Dallas. And even worse, Oklahoma State is ahead of Houston, even though the Cougars handily beat the Cowboys in Stillwater! How does that make any sense at all?

I also agree with you about Washington. That was a nice win for the Huskies, but from my vantage point that game was more about USC's problems and missing players more than it was any greatness from Washington. It was not a well-played game from either side. As for Pitt, I've had them ranked a couple of weeks now in my power rankings, and have them at No. 23 this week. I know one AP voter who has them as high as No. 10. As I'm writing today in the blog, the Panthers are flying below the radar, partly because of their schedule and partly because of lingering doubts from the Sun Bowl.

But there's one easy solution: keep winning.

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Adam from Pittsburgh writes: I'm the "worried-about-Pitt's-QB-play" guy who wrote into your chat a few weeks ago -- one among many who's written you, I'm sure. I know Pitt hasn't been playing world-beaters up to this point, but I've been pleasantly surprised by Bill Stull's QB play. It's only been three weeks, but he's gotten better in each successive game. Maybe -- just maybe -- us Pitt fans need to calm down and realize that Frank Cignetti actually does know what he's doing. If I doubt my own team then I never mind eating a little humble pie later on, ya know? I'm not ready for a slice just yet, but I think Bill Stull might already be baking it.

Brian Bennett: Yes, Stull has played very efficiently thus far and has quieted his many doubters. It's a nice story, because he's a hard-working kid who's gone through a lot in his career. Pitt doesn't need a star at quarterback for this team; it just needs someone to make the plays that are there and not turn the ball over. So far, Stull has done that. The only caveat: he hasn't faced a top-flight defense yet.

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Dimitri from Cincinnati writes: You said several times that Cincinnati deserves to be ranked in the top-10, but you put them at 12 in your power rankings. What gives?

Brian Bennett: Dmitri, I said the Bearcats deserve Top 10 consideration. I considered it. They came up just short. It's Week 4. No reason to sweat it yet.