LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two Cardinals players will have their wishes granted this week.

Running back Kolby Smith will return from a knee injury to play Thursday against Pittsburgh (4-4, 3-1 Big East Conference) in the No. 24 Cardinals' (5-2, 1-2) first Big East Conference home game, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said Monday.

Smith missed the Cardinals' last two games, including a triple-overtime loss at West Virginia, 46-44. Since the West Virginia loss, the Cardinals bounced back to defeat Cincinnati, 46-22, and had last Saturday off.

Fellow running back Michael Bush, second in the nation in touchdowns with 18, has averaged almost 25 carries per game and run for nine touchdowns in the last three games. Bush has told Smith every day since he was injured that he needed Smith back.

"All he was saying was, 'I need you back. I need you back to help me carry some of this weight,'" Smith said.

Smith couldn't describe the frustration of being stuck on the sideline, watching his team lose, while Bush ground out 37 carries.

"I just felt like, in some situations, I could've been the back to help Mike out because he had so many carries," Smith said.

He averaged nine carries per game for 6.3 yards per carry in the four games before the injury.

On Monday, Smith rated himself at about 95 percent. Though he only recently began practicing at full speed, he still did cardio work and rehab on the knee. But he wasn't able to plant on the turf and make sudden changes in direction.

"I haven't lost that much," Smith said.

While Smith was out, redshirt freshman George Stripling teamed with Bush in the team's rushing duties. Stripling is second on the team in rushing yards and ran for a career-high 117 yards against Cincinnati.

The Cardinals have always attacked defenses with a variety of running backs under third-year coach Petrino. Last season, Smith and Bush split time with Lionel Gates and Eric Shelton, both now in the National Football League. So Smith isn't worried about the number of carries.

"We're going to play all three of them ... try to get them all involved early in the game," Petrino said. "That's the key, to be able to keep them fresh. ... I like the change of pace, the different speed, the different runs they each make."

The Cardinals may need all three backs to be effective in their game against the Panthers. Pittsburgh lost its first three games but looks to be on track, winning the last three.

Neither team's season has gone as hoped. The Cardinals were selected to win the Big East in their first year in the conference in a preseason poll of media representatives who cover the league teams. The only other team to get a first place vote was Pittsburgh. Instead, the Panthers, under new head coach Dave Wannstedt, lost three of their first four games, and the Cardinals are tied for sixth in the conference.

"This is a big game for us, no question about it," Petrino said. "This is our chance to get back in the national spotlight."

Louisville already has a little of its shine back. The Cardinals are ranked again after being absent last week for the first time this season.