By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer

CINCINNATI(AP) -- In each of coach Brian Kelly's first three
seasons, No. 4 Cincinnati has accomplished a big breakthrough.
Another one is only a victory away.

The Bearcats (8-0) will match the best start in school history
if they beat Connecticut (4-4) at home on Saturday night. The
1951 Mid-American Conference championship team also won its
first nine games and finished 10-1, setting the benchmark at
Cincinnati for wins in a season.

Cincinnati matched that 10-win mark in Kelly's first season of
2007, then topped it by one last year while winning its first
Big East title and playing in the Orange Bowl. Already this
year, the Bearcats have the highest ranking in their history,
placing themselves in the national title talk.

Next goal: 9-0.

"Before coach Kelly got here, it wasn't anything like this,"
sophomore quarterback Zach Collaros said Tuesday. "The first
year, we were 10-3 and went to the Papajohns.com Bowl. The next
year, we won the Big East. Now, we're No. 4 in the country,
which is crazy to think about in such a short period of time."

As long as the Bearcats keep winning, they'll keep going places
they only dreamed about before Kelly arrived. They've got a few
things in their favor heading into the last four regular-season
games.

The next three are at home - against UConn, West Virginia (6-2)
and Illinois (2-6). There's also a bye week after the West
Virginia game.

The Bearcats finish the season at No. 14 Pittsburgh on Dec. 5, a
game that could decide the Big East title.

"It's great that our football team is going to be home for the
next month," Kelly said. "We've been on the road a lot. We've
won eight consecutive road games. I think that says a lot about
our football team, our program, the consistency you need.

"I've talked about that from day one. You have to be a
consistent program to gain the relevance nationally, and we're
doing that because we're winning on the road as well."

They're also winning with their top quarterback hurt, something
that's become the norm for them.

Last year, starter Dustin Grutza broke his leg early in the
season, Tony Pike took over and broke his non-passing forearm.
Pike got a plate inserted in the left forearm to aid the
healing, then missed two games. Collaros and Chazz Anderson
filled in while Pike recovered and kept the team going.

Pike damaged the plate during a win at South Florida on Oct. 15
and needed to have it replaced. Collaros has started the last
two games and thrown for seven touchdowns, keeping the Bearcats
on the mark for that record start.

Although Pike is having the cast on his left forearm replaced by
a splint so he can practice more fully this week, Collaros is
likely to make his third career start against Connecticut. In
only a couple of weeks, he has made the adjustment.

"You're a lot more focused, I have to admit that," Collaros
said. "I'm a lot more focused on the task at hand. I'm
definitely studying a lot more film - and doing a lot more
interviews. There is a difference."

Not in the results. Not so far.