ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Brian Kelly called last week's Oregon State game a "gut-check" for his Cincinnati Bearcats. They had to go on the road and win in a hostile environment, and do so after falling behind early.

The Bearcats passed that test, winning for the second time in three games in a tough road atmosphere. So what's the next hurdle for Cincinnati, which is up to No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25?

"I think we're at that next level of consistency, where we've got to be able to answer the bell week in and week out," Kelly said. "Can you stay focused on the task at hand, where you have to be consistent and keep the same routine?"

Coming off two emotional victories in three weeks, the Bearcats have to stay grounded this week when Fresno State (1-2) visits. The Bulldogs have a history of knocking off bigger-name teams; they took Wisconsin to overtime and lost a shootout to Boise State in the past two weeks.

Fresno is averaging 38.7 points and 495 yards per game. Leading rusher Ryan Mathews is coming off a huge game against Boise and is averaging 9.1 yards per carry.

"We will be challenged defensively more so than I can remember," Kelly said. "Big plays are what they're about."

The Cincinnati defense was up to the task at Oregon State. Despite being backed into a field position hole several times early, it held the Beavers to just one touchdown the entire game.

"That just shows how bad we want it," linebacker JK Schaffer, who had a key interception late on Saturday. "We're not too worried about where the offense puts us on the field. We're going to work hard and we're going to try and get out of the hole.

"We've got a lot of things we can improve upon still, and that's really a positive thing because it just shows how much better we can get."

Despite the tremendous start, Kelly declared his team as "still a work in progress." He said the offense made more mental errors last week than it had the first two games combined. He's got concerns about some of the special teams play. And the defense, he said, is still coming together with all the new starters.

There are also some possible distractions this week. Cincinnati's players have been able to focus just on football until now, but the university will start classes this week -- "we've been in preseason camp for about 55 days, it seems," Kelly said. The high rankings and buzz around the program have led to a lot of back-slapping. Pundits are starting to peek ahead at the schedule and wonder how long the Bearcats can remain undefeated.

"We're trying not to pay attention to too much of that stuff," Schaffer said. "We know the first time we look ahead it will come back to haunt us. We're trying not to let our heads get too big right now."

That's the next hurdle for Cincinnati to clear. So far, not much has stood in its way.