Louisville's pre-game press conference took place Tuesday afternoon and he are several topics coach Bobby Petrino touched on related to the Hurricanes before Monday night's opener.

> Louisville's best receiver DeVante Parker, injured in practice last Friday, will miss Monday's game after undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone in his right foot. Parker is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

“He’s a tremendous player, and what we just have do is guys have to step up and perform. I think we’re fortunate in the situation we’re in that we have a lot of experienced players. We’ve got Eli Rogers, we’ve got Michaelee [Harris], we’ve got Kai De La Cruz, Matt Milton, James Quick, guys that have played in games and made plays. And certainly they’re all going to have to contribute, we’re going to have to rely on our tight ends and running backs, so you’re never going to replace a guy like DeVante with just one guy. You’ve got to do it collectively with all the weapons that we have stepping up and making more plays.”

Will the injury to Parker restrict Louisville's offense?

"It’ll change things around. I don’t know if restriction is the right word. Certainly when you miss a guy like that, we’re going to be a little bit different. Like I said, we’re not going to have one guy step in and say “OK, you’re now DeVante.” We’ve got to be able to utilize the weapons that we have, the things they do well, mix the ball around, get guys in a position where they can make plays.”

> The health and availability of running back Michael Dyer (bruised quadriceps) remains in question. “Michael has not progressed as well and we had th0ught he would initially. He still has some swelling in there, he’s not been able to get back out on the field yet. I think here, today, tomorrow are big days to see if he’ll be available for the game. He has made progress and he has gotten better, particularly the last part of the week last week, but we’re yet to see if he’ll be available for the game.”

> Petrino said he and his coaching staff have gathered plenty of film on freshman starting quarterback Brad Kaaya.

“We’ve got his high school film," Petrino said. "We studied his high school film. He’s a big guy, he makes a lot of good throws, he looks like a guy that gets the ball out of his hand quick, has a quick release. In the video that we watched, he’s not like a run-around guy and he’s more of a pocket passer. But he was impressive in his high school video.”

> Louisville didn't face Duke Johnson in last year's 36-9 blowout win over Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl. They will this time.

“He’s a really good player," He’s somebody that we have to contain. We’ve got to do a good job of setting edges with our outside linebackers and defensive ends. Our safeties are going to have a to do a good job coming downhill and tackling, and we’ve got to get 11 guys to the ball. I think that’s the biggest thing when you watch him is that we’re going to have to run full speed to the ball because he’s a guy that can take it the distance.”

> Would Petrino rather be coaching the losing team in a bowl game rematch?

“No I would rather be coaching the team I’m coaching right now. And I wasn’t part of that either," he said. "I think that’s the thing that we’ve tried to make sure our players understand. They’re two completely different teams. We have a different offense, different defense, they have a different quarterback. They do have the same defensive coordinator and some of the same guys back on defense. But it’s totally two different teams, and it’s going to be a battle. We have to go out there and perform well, play with great intensity and try to find a way to win the game in the fourth quarter.”