Dan Wolken, Paul Myerberg, George Schroeder and Daniel Uthman

USA TODAY Sports

Though former five-star recruit Gunner Kiel went nearly three years between playing meaningful snaps, his Cincinnati debut has lived up to the hype and then some.

In just two games, albeit against marginal opposition in Toledo and Miami (Ohio), Kiel has already thrown 10 touchdowns while completing 50-of-76 passes with just two interceptions for the Bearcats, who step up in competition Saturday at No. 20 Ohio State.

"There's no doubt we'll find out a lot this week," Cincinnati offensive coordinator Eddie Gran said.

Kiel's hot start with Cincinnati shouldn't be a surprise, even if it took awhile to come to fruition. Ranked by both Rivals and Scout as the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the 2012 recruiting class, it was obvious Kiel had talent. The question was whether he'd find a stable situation after backing out of early commitments to Indiana and LSU before enrolling at Notre Dame, only to spend his freshman year buried behind Everett Golson and Tommy Rees on the depth chart.

By transferring to Cincinnati, roughly 90 miles from his hometown of Columbus, Ind., Kiel would have to sacrifice yet another year of on-field development in hopes of a better long-term fit.

One reason Kiel hasn't shown a lot of rust so far, Gran believes, is his engagement in learning the offense last year and the fact he was able to get what amounted to second-team reps during practices for the Belk Bowl in December because the team had to hold starter Brendon Kay out due to injuries.

"The 15 days we had for (bowl) practice was like spring ball for him," Gran said. "So when he got to spring this year he really understood the offense and it was because of his attitude. He wanted to be a sponge; he wanted to learn what we knew."

Gran has reminded Kiel that things won't always go as smoothly as they did in his debut, when he threw for 418 yards and six touchdowns against Toledo. What excites him, though, is that after each interception he threw last weekend against Miami, Kiel understood immediately what mistake he had made.

"On the naked bootleg he threw it right to the guy, and I looked at him and said, 'Are you kidding me? You can't do that. Throw it out of bounds,' " Gran said. "But then he came back and made one of the most unbelievable throws (on the next series). He'll learn from that."

Given the lack of premier games this weekend, a lot of eyeballs will be on Kiel and the Bearcats on Saturday. Gran is hopeful he's ready to show the nation that his talent translates against a team like Ohio State.

"The first two games have shown he has that ability, and we're going to go do what we do," Gran said. "They're a great team and it's going to be a great challenge and I'm excited about it, I really am. I think he is, too."​

— D.W.

Concern about eye tests?

Louisiana-Monroe sandwiches around its normal Sun Belt Conference schedule four nonconference games against teams from the Power Five landscape: Wake Forest, LSU, Kentucky and Texas A&M.

These games, with two already in the books and a pair yet to come, are scattered across the schedule for a reason: Frontloading these matchups "can be confidence-breakers for your team," ULM coach Todd Berry said.

They're necessary evils for programs like ULM, which relies on the high-figure paychecks during nonconference play to support its football program and overall athletic department. The games will continue during the College Football Playoff era, a postseason shift Berry calls "great for college football."

But the Warhawks' fifth-year coach fears how the playoff push could lead major-conference teams to rack up points in bunches to impress voters and the selection committee, perhaps vaulting into one of the top four spots at the expense of a less talented opponent.

"Now, my only problem with the four-team playoff is the fact that I think there's teams out there that especially late in the year that are going to have to have style points to try to make sure they're that fourth team in," he said.

"One of the things that I'm concerned about moving down the road is having some of those later games against a team that is on the fringe of being one of those playoff teams. They can make that conscious decision going into the game … 'We don't just need to win, we need to embarrass a program.' "

The SEC, for example, will face 10 teams from a Group of Five conference or the Football Championship Subdivision from the final weekend of October through the end of the regular season. One of those games, on Nov. 1, pits ULM against Texas A&M, which could find itself in the mix for the playoff.

"Obviously, you take a team on the fringe of getting in and have to make that decision, which I get," Berry said. "If I'm (Texas A&M coach) Kevin Sumlin, I want to protect my kids and make sure they have that opportunity. Being a good sportsman, there's a fine line there at that point and time in whether you jeopardize your team's opportunity."

— P.M.

Perine's latest benchmark

Earlier this week, when Oklahoma assistant coach Cale Gundy told reporters that true freshman running back Samaje Perine had benched 275 pounds 22 times, it sounded like an exaggeration, given that participants in the NFL Combine test with 225 pounds.

And as it turns out, the anecdote was slightly inflated.

"It was only 20 times," Perine tells USA TODAY Sports.

Yeah, at 275 pounds.

For reference, the best mark in the 2014 NFL Combine by a running back was 32. And that was at 225 pounds.

"The most I ever did back in high school was 31," Perine, who's from Pflugerville, Texas, says of his best at the lower weight.

After what Perine did last week, there's not much reason to doubt the claims. The 5-11, 243-pounder was a huge factor in the Sooners' 45-33 victory at West Virginia, carrying 34 times for 242 yards and four touchdowns.

In the second half, when Oklahoma ran on 27 of 36 plays and gradually pulled away, the kid teammates call "Tank," "Hulk," – and lately, "Optimus Perine" – had 20 carries for 131 yards and three touchdowns. The fourth-quarter drive that sealed victory was all Perine: seven runs, 65 yards, capped by a 19-yard touchdown.

"That whole second half, we were just rolling," he says.

Or steamrolling. On many of those plays, Perine seemed to seek out contact – and then bowl over defenders.

Last Sunday afternoon, Perine showed up at the offensive line meeting room at the Sooners' football complex with three pizzas.

"I had to show my thanks," he says, "for the game they had last week. That game was amazing for them."

He's right. Oklahoma's offensive line, which averages 325.8 pounds, is a physical, propulsive force in the run game. But Perine is, too. How'd he feel about his performance?

"It was all right, I guess," says Perine, who started the season No. 3 in Oklahoma's running back rotation. "I couldn't have done it without my 'O-line.'"

According to the Tulsa World, Perine was asked 23 questions in postgame interviews last week. In eight, he thanked the offensive line.

"They were phenomenal," he says.

So was Perine.

— G.S.

Prep coach recalls Maguire

There's a picture of Florida State quarterback Sean Maguire on the wall outside Seton Hall Preparatory School coach John Finnegan's office, alongside similar pictures and lists touting the current and recent college players to come out of the all-boys school in West Orange, N.J.

Before last weekend, Maguire was merely a face in the crowd – if not at Seton Hall Prep, which is known more for baseball and basketball, then certainly nationally, where Maguire stood as the little-known backup to Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston.

That changed against Clemson: Maguire replaced a suspended Winston and threw for 304 yards in the Seminoles' overtime win, tying the score with his 74-yard touchdown strike with six minutes left in regulation.

Finnegan watched the game at home, alone on the couch, anxious and nervous, the adrenaline reaching a fever pitch with Maguire's coming-out moment late in the fourth quarter.

"He's a competitor," Finnegan said of Maguire. "They knocked him on his ass. They had no running game. They kept knocking him down, but he kept playing hard. That's the kind of kid he is. He's not going to quit."

Toughness – a cliché, true, but evident during Maguire's first career start – might be the sophomore's defining characteristic, Finnegan said. He's not Winston's equal as an athlete, Finnegan admitted, "but he's Tom Brady-like."

"That's the kind of characteristics that he has, the kind of knowledge of the game," Finnegan said. "And I think if they could've run the ball he wouldn't have had that much pressure on him. I don't think that was a perfect situation to put a kid in, but he did 300-plus yards passing against Clemson. It wasn't mistake-free, but it was pretty damn good."

— P.M.

ECU's task just beginning

East Carolina had the most successful non-conference performance of any team outside the Power 5, beating Virginia Tech and North Carolina the last two weeks. But ECU athletics director Jeff Compher has been stressing that the Pirates won't get the major bowl bid reserved for the so-called "Group of Five" without winning the American Athletic Conference. That slot is reserved for the highest-ranked champion of those conferences.

"That's what I've been telling our people," Compher said. "Beating ACC teams is great, but without winning our conference, none of it matters."

Even with a loss to South Carolina, the Pirates would seem to have a leg up on the likes of Marshall from Conference USA or any other Group of Five candidates simply because of how much they challenged themselves in the non-conference.

That trend will continue in future seasons, as ECU has Florida, Virginia Tech (at home) and BYU lined up for 2015 with Virginia Tech, South Carolina and N.C. State (at home) in 2016.

"Luckily we've got at least one premier game in our stadium until 2022," Compher said. "You have to have a competitive non-conference schedule, and you have to put yourself in that position. You can't just slide through."

Now it's up to the Pirates to finish the deal.

— D.W.

Mississippi State's defensive QB

The individuals inside Mississippi State's defensive staff room are some of quarterback Dak Prescott's biggest supporters, Bulldogs defensive coordinator Geoff Collins said.

But those same coaches are quick to praise junior middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney, the team's leading tackler and, to Collins, Prescott's equivalent on the defensive side of the ball.

"Benardrick McKinney is on the same level on our side of the ball as Dak," he said. "And that's saying a lot. He makes everything happen for us on defense."

McKinney was the central figure in Mississippi State's season-making win at LSU, where the program hadn't won since 1991. Collins told his defense it had to stop the run; led by McKinney and senior defensive lineman Preston Smith — two likely all-conference picks — the Bulldogs limited LSU to just 89 yards on 36 carries.

"We finished it off the right way," Collins said. "They played really hard, really physical."

With one road test passed, the Bulldogs have an idle week before embarking on the sort of two-game stretch that could strain the limits of any defense: Mississippi State plays host to Texas A&M on Oct. 4 and Auburn on Oct. 11.

"We know if you're going to play in this league, coach in this league, every week is going to be a challenge," he said. "We're fine about it. Just got to get ready for next week."

— P.M.

Dantonio seeks knowledge

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio knows what to expect from Wyoming and new coach Craig Bohl on Saturday.

"I mean they're going to coach toughness, they're going to be on time in terms of everything they do, very organized, you tell that by the way they run their plays and what they bring to the table every single week," Dantonio said this week.

He's not sure, however, what to expect from his ninth-ranked Spartans. "I think we're a 2-1 team right now that had a bye early in the season, and quite honestly, we're still looking for who is Michigan State?" he said. "What is our identity going forward. … I think they're questions from within, from myself, of what's our identity this year? I think we have great team chemistry and we're going to develop an identity as we move forward, but these next games, this game particularly, will help us in that area."

Dantonio said he doesn't really know Bohl, but as he told his staff this week, he does know Bohl beat him out for a job once. In 1983, Dantonio was a first-year grad assistant at Ohio State, and Bohl was in the same capacity at Nebraska. North Dakota State was looking for a full-time defensive backs coach.

Thirty years and three FCS titles for Bohl at NDSU later, they meet on the field.

— D.U.

GALLERY: GAMES TO WATCH IN WEEK 5