ESPN College Football

Only 22 games into his tenure, Brian Kelly has already accomplished a lot as the Cincinnati coach.

He's won 17 games, including two bowl victories. He led the Bearcats to a No. 17 national ranking at the end of last year, its first appearance in a final poll. He guided them to their first 10-win season in more than 55 years last season. He has beaten four ranked teams.

Those are wonderful accomplishments. Winning this Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va., might trump them all.

"It's the most important game I've coached to this point," Kelly said. "If you're going to be the Big East champions and control your own destiny, you've got to go there and beat them."

Cincinnati (6-2, 2-1 Big East) is one game behind the Mountaineers (6-2, 3-0) in the conference standings. A victory would give the Bearcats a share of first place and the head-to-head tiebreaker, with the other top conference contender, Pittsburgh, coming to Nippert Stadium later this month. A loss virtually eliminates Cincinnati from a shot at the league's BCS bid.

The program has been to six bowls since 2000, but always to mid-tier games like the International, Motor City and Papajohns.com Bowls. The Bearcats want to break into the more illustrious position that West Virginia has enjoyed.

"They are the Big East gurus," receiver Mardy Gilyard said. "They have all those trophies and numerous player of the year awards. That's what they do. They have a big target painted on them, but they've been strong enough to stand up to the challenge each year. They're the powerhouse."

Kelly and his players would never say this, but there's a feeling that Cincinnati must strike while its stars are aligned. The Bearcats have 10 senior starters on defense and 19 overall. Kelly's success means his name is constantly being mentioned for other high-profile openings around the country, and while Cincinnati will do everything it can to try and keep him, who knows what next year will look like?

Then again, this isn't the easiest time to play West Virginia, as the Mountaineers are coming off consecutive big wins over Auburn and Connecticut and seem to be reaching their potential.

"I wish we could have played them in the first week," Kelly said. "They're getting better and better and it's obvious they have a clearer understanding of what they're trying to accomplish."

The Bearcats must overcome some history, as they're just 1-14-1 all-time in the series, although the lone victory came in Morgantown in 2003 when Cincinnati was still in Conference USA. Last year, the Mountaineers won 28-23 at Nippert in a game they led 28-10 midway through the fourth quarter.

Kelly's team should have some advantages in this game. West Virginia hasn't faced a passing attack this strong all season, and quarterback Tony Pike's confidence is soaring after a good performance last week against South Florida. The Mountaineers start two sophomores and a true freshman in their secondary. Their 3-3-5 defensive alignment won't be foreign to Cincinnati, which saw it against Akron earlier this season and Southern Miss in last year's bowl game.

Gilyard leads the Big East in kickoff returns, while West Virginia has the worst kickoff coverage unit in the country. And the veteran Bearcats defense is starting to play like last year's dominating bunch, though it may have to switch up some schemes to slow Pat White, Noel Devine and Jock Sanders.

The pieces are there for Cincinnati to pull off the upset. So is the opportunity. It's one that doesn't come around too often.

"We are on a one-game season right now," cornerback DeAngelo Smith said. "It could put us in a different position if we win this game. This is going to be big."