PITTSBURGH Is soft early season a plus or a minus?

The Panthers' first true test probably won't happen till Sept. 27.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- As Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris fielded question after question at his weekly news conference, one topic never seemed to be of much interest.
Saturday's game against Ball State.
Harris talked about quarterback Rod Rutherford's strong play after sitting out a quarter of last week's 43-3 victory over Kent State for disciplinary reasons. A series of questions were asked about star receiver Larry Fitzgerald and the Panthers' kicking game.
But, reflecting the prevailing thinking that the No. 11 Panthers (1-0) won't be truly tested until they play at Texas A & amp;M on Sept. 27, only one of the 17 questions dealt specifically with Ball State.
Even so, Harris said all the right things -- namely, that no opponent can be overlooked and the Mid-American Conference's track record of pulling off upsets should make any coach wary of playing a MAC team.
Still, even if he did so inadvertently, Harris didn't mention Ball State (1-1) until the end of the opening remarks he gives before every media session. If anything, the unintended slight illustrates Pittsburgh's biggest challenge until its schedule toughens up considerably.
Question
Namely, how do the Panthers stay competitive when their early season schedule is anything but difficult?
Kent State offered little resistance, and Ball State -- a 31-point underdog -- is expected to do likewise. Next week, Pittsburgh plays at Toledo, the only one of its three season-opening MAC opponents that figures to provide much of a challenge.
"We have seen what happened to Maryland [upset by Northern Illinois] and Purdue [upset by Bowling Green] the last two weeks," Harris said. "We know that we've got an opponent that's going to be tough to beat. No coach worries about games down the road. You'd better not be or you're going to get beat by the team you're playing that particular week."
Some coaches fret that their nonconference schedules are too challenging. Harris' worry is his might not be challenging enough.
"But that's why they call us coaches, and that's why you need leadership from your players," Harris said. "That's why we need to have good habits in practice ... to make practice seem like a game. Then, I feel you will have fewer problems when you play teams that everyone else thinks are less representative or less challenging to you."