Week 3 Look Ahead: About Virginia

Miami's in the book. Murray State's in the book. That's two wins in one week for Louisville football.

Now the Cardinals start preparing for their first road game of the season, and it's taken on a much different perception after the first two weeks of the season.

Here's a look ahead at what's next for U of L this week:

1. A changed tune. The way Virginia played last year -- two wins in 12 games and a lot of ugly -- there was reason to think Louisville's opener against Miami was its only tough game in the entire month of September. In fact, I honestly thought Louisville would breeze through five wins between the Miami and Clemson games. I'm not so sold anymore.

Virginia comes into Week 3 with some confidence. The Cavaliers suffered some early setbacks in their loss to UCLA, but had those turnovers not given UCLA a fast start, Virginia probably would've won its season opener. UCLA started the year with College Football Playoff expectations, and UVA made the Bruins look very average. The Cavs have forced nine turnovers in the first two games, and they'll be at home for a big game with Louisville. In other words, what was once considered a walkover game is now a very intriguing matchup on Saturday.

2. Michael Dyer's coming back. Well, we think. Bobby Petrino said Saturday night that Dyer found him in the locker room after Louisville's 66-21 win over Murray State and said he was ready to play. The staff maintained last week that Dyer would likely return for UVA. And now that the importance of the game has increased, Dyer's explosive speed and elusive running make him a very valuable asset.

3. The freshmen rise. If nothing else, Saturday's game showed what the young backups on Louisville's roster can do. LJ Scott, who had a huge spring game and in my book was already a promising stalwart, ran off 126 yards and a touchdown in the first half against Murray State. He is a downright bully when he has the ball, and he gives Louisville another bruiser to match starter Dominique Brown. Cornerback Trumaine Washington keeps showing he's able to compete with the regulars. And who could forget quarterback Reggie Bonnafon's fast start to his Louisville career?

4. Virginia's new star. The name Matt Johns probably isn't too familiar with Louisville fans. I mean, that's for good reason: UVA just snapped a 10-game losing streak that spanned two seasons, and it's not like there was any logic to paying attention to the Cavs until this season. But now that you are, you should know about Johns, a redshirt sophomore from the Philly suburbs.

Johns is a 6-foot-5, 210-pound quarterback who can move a little bit. He was the lifeblood that brought Virginia back from the dead against UCLA in Week 1. After starting QB Greyson Lambert, a high school sort-of rival of Will Gardner in south Georgia, threw two pick-sixes, Johns came in and threw two touchdown passes and ran for a big first down during the rally. UVA didn't need him as much against Richmond, a game the Cavs won 45-13, but Johns was 4 of 7 passing, with 65 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

5. Petrino on the road. U of L has won 20 consecutive home games under Petrino, but now comes the first road test in his second go-round with the Cardinals. By my count, Petrino's Louisville teams went 16-6 during his first four-year tenure at U of L.