Louisville is still waiting on running back Michael Dyer to get healthy, hoping he can give its ground game a jolt.
The bigger question is whether it matters who is carrying the ball given the issues the Cardinals have had on the offensive line.
Dyer has yet to play in a game this season after bruising his thigh during a scrimmage in mid-August. He was able to practice this week, and coach Bobby Petrino said Thursday there was "definitely" a chance Dyer could play against FIU. According to the Courier-Journal, Petrino said:
"We saw some really good things from him. The thing that's hard on that is it's not only the injury that he's overcoming, it's the soreness from not doing those things for five weeks -- not running hard and cutting and doing all that. The rest of his body is sore."
Dyer has had a difficult time staying healthy since he arrived at Louisville and has yet to recapture the form that he displayed during his first two seasons at Auburn, when he ran for over 1,000 yards as a freshman and a sophomore. Given his talent and past production, he is the best running back on the roster, and Louisville could absolutely use his help.
Would he be an absolute difference maker? Petrino said this week he had opened up the competition on the offensive line to try and shake things up among a group that has struggled both in the run and pass game. With Dyer out, Louisville has relied primarily on Dominique Brown and L.J. Scott at running back. If you throw out the game against FCS Murray State, Louisville is averaging just 104.5 yards rushing. Some of that has to do with sacks allowed but even if you add in the yards lost by quarterbacks, Louisville is averaging just 123 yards per game on the ground.
Essentially, Louisville has not been as explosive as it wants to be out of the backfield. Brown had over 100 yards in the opening win against Miami but averaged 4.3 yards per carry. Against a much better Virginia defense, Brown averaged 3.7 yards per carry. As we discussed in an earlier mailbag, Petrino needs an effective run game for his offense to run smoothly.
Clemson's secondary is improving.
Duke will be without starting defensive end Dezmond Johnson against Tulane.
For now, Alex Officer is the center of attention for Pittsburgh.
Can Syracuse gain national relevance with a 4-0 start?
Tom Shatel of the Omaha World-Herald looks back at how Miami helped shape Nebraska's future.
Miami's offensive line says it's ready for Nebraska.
Virginia Tech got some good news from its injury report.
Wake Forest freshman quarterback Travis Smith has decided to transfer, leaving the Demon Deacons with two scholarship quarterbacks against Army on Saturday.