Week 5 Look Ahead: U of L preps for Wake

Louisville's first road win is in the books thanks to a 34-3 win at FIU on Saturday. Now the Cardinals turn their focus to Wake Forest, which travels to Louisville this Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPNU.

This will be another important week of practice for U of L, so let's look at a few things to watch this week as the Cards prep for parents' weekend.

1. Gardner/Bonnafon. Will Gardner wasn't exactly great against FIU, and he drew the ire of U of L coach Bobby Petrino when an early pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage. If you're new to these parts, that's been a bit of an issue this season for Gardner.

So now the question becomes (1) is Gardner healthy after appearing to injure his knee on a low hit by an FIU defender? And (2) is he's at all in doubt, does freshman QB Reggie Bonnafon get the start? Bonnafon missed last week's practices and game as he grieved the unexpected passing of his dad. It's assumed he'll return to practice this week. Will he get the reins of the offense?

2. Fixing the offensive line. Hate to pick on one guy, but Ryan Mack's had back-to-back rough outings at right tackle. Last week, he was usually the Louisville lineman engaged with a Virginia defender when that defender then jumped up without impediment and tipped a Gardner pass. This weekend against FIU, Mack had three false starts and lost his guy multiple times on runs and throws. Kelby Johnson was the first-team right tackle during preseason camp, but has been used as a reserve in games. Any chance he comes back into the first-team fold?

3. Keeping Quick up. A huge game at FIU was sort of an awakening for James Quick, who had three big catches, two touchdowns and a bunch of threatening punt returns. He is Louisville's best playmaker right now, and the Cards have figured out a bunch of ways to get him the ball -- deep routes, crossing patterns and (most noticeably) tons of screens.

4. More Washington? Trumaine Washington keeps adding more and more playing time to his freshman season. The young cornerback from Miami made his way back into the first-team defense for several series for the second time in two weeks. He's been sound in helping senior Andrew Johnson at that spot. Washington's diving tackle on one punt stopped FIU's speedy Clinton Taylor from finding much running room. Washington finished with five tackles and a pass breakup.