CINCINNATI -- Tommy Tuberville says players and coaches don't really notice crowds during a game. It's going to be hard for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats to ignore the 107,000 inside Ohio Stadium Saturday.
There will more than that focused on the play of UC quarterback Gunner Kiel. In his first two college games, Kiel has been as advertised. He was a five-star recruit out of high school who drew the attention of every major program in the country. He committed and then de-committed to Indiana. He committed and then de-committed to LSU, finally choosing Notre Dame only to leave South Bend after one redshirt year.
He found his way to Cincinnati, a program propelled to the national stage by Brian Kelly, his former coach at Notre Dame, with two BCS bowl bids. Because of conference re-alignment, UC is trying to prove to the college football world that it is more than just another team outside of the Power Five conferences.
Kiel is the kind of quarterback talent who can turn a lot of heads. Kiel leading the Bearcats to a win at Ohio State would send shock waves not just throughout the state but the entire college football nation.
"The kid's got a lot of confidence and that's all you can ask for," said senior left tackle Eric Lefeld. "I couldn't be more excited to block for him and play with Gunner. He exemplifies everything a good leader needs. He's calm, focused and we can do a lot of great things."
UC kept Kiel under wraps this week when it came to the media. Even Tuberville deflected questions about Kiel by answering them from a team point-of-view. It's understandable from the team's perspective. Kiel is 21 and, even though he's been in the football spotlight since high school, he's played just two games.
Now, those two games have been impressive; he's completed 50-of-76 passes against Toledo and Miami (Ohio) for 689 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. He set a school record with six touchdown passes against Toledo in the season opener.
Ohio State is a different level of competition. Kiel is going to have to be better.
"He didn't play nearly as well (against Miami) as he did the week before," said Tuberville. "We all knew that was going to happen. You can't play that well. He played lights out except for two or three plays the first week. It wasn't that they didn't have any pressure on him or a couple of different coverages. Sometimes I think he starts pressing."
How will Kiel and the Bearcats react when momentum turns in favor of Ohio State? It will at some point in the game.
"I'm not worried about the stands and fans," said Tuberville, who will be coaching in his first game at the Horseshoe but has 17 years of head coaching experience in the SEC and Big 12 conferences. "I'm more worried about the guys on the other side he's got to compete against."
Defending the pass has been a problem for Ohio State going back to last season. UC will bring a multitude of weapons into the game. The Bearcats have had 12 different players catch passes, including seven different players with touchdown receptions from Kiel.
"I see a strong guy, he looks big," said Ohio State coach Urban Meyer about his immediate impressions of Kiel. "Big, strong arms and throws in a courageous player that throws into the oncoming pass rush. Like most really good quarterbacks, he has really good personnel around him. Really good. I see one of the top quarterbacks in the country."
UC took just three plays to score against Toledo in the opener. On the first play, Kiel dropped back, threw the ball deep and connected with Mckale McKay for 52 yards. The pair finished the drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass. McKay leads UC with 12 catches for 219 yards and three touchdowns.
If the Bearcats are going to become the first Ohio team to beat Ohio State since 1921, they're going to need more than just Kiel. But he's an awful good place to start.
"That (first touchdown) just reaffirmed what we do, all the work we put in," said Lefeld. "It's not just Gunner. It's not just the guys up front. It's the whole group. It's the wide receivers getting open. It's us giving him time and Gunner taking his time and making his reads. That just shows you that we can be as dangerous as we want to be."
