After suffering a broken arm and a separated shoulder last season, Ben Mauk transferred to Cincinnati hoping for a fresh start. With him at quarterback, the Bearcats are enjoying their best start in 53 years.

Mauk and 20th-ranked Cincinnati (5-0) look to continue their surprising run as they open Big East play Saturday against No. 21 Rutgers (3-1), which will be looking for some revenge after last year's loss to the Bearcats ended its national title hopes.

The Bearcats are looking for their first-ever road win against the Scarlet Knights . They've lost in their previous six visits to Piscataway, most recently a 44-9 blowout in 2005.

Cincinnati will look to Mauk and the potent offense that new coach Brian Kelly has installed to help it end that skid.

The Bearcats are the sixth-highest scoring team in the nation at 46.4 points per game, and have outscored opponents 232-53. They had another impressive effort Saturday, rolling up 547 yards of offense in a 52-23 win over San Diego State.

Mauk, who transferred after being injured in Wake Forest's season opener last year, was 17-for-23 for 257 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.

"I thought Ben Mauk had his best game of the year," said Kelly, who took over the team in December after Mark Dantonio left for Michigan State following the regular season, and led the Bearcats to a win in the International Bowl. "Very, very efficient, made some tough throws in tight coverage. He was on top of his game."

The Bearcats are 5-0 for the first time since winning their first eight games in 1954. Cincinnati, which had moved into the Top 25 the previous week for the first time since 1976, now looks to make Kelly the first coach since Russ Cohen in 1935 to go unbeaten in his first seven games with the Bearcats.

Mauk's ability to withstand some continued arm pain isn't the only thing responsible for Cincinnati's surprising rise. Ray Rice leads the conference with 132.0 rushing yards per game, and the Bearcats have a plus-14 turnover margin and have held opponents to less than 100 rushing yards in each of the last four games.

Despite the six straight defeats at Piscataway, a Cincinnati win Saturday wouldn't compare to last year's victory over Rutgers, which put to rest talk of a national title for the Scarlet Knights . Rutgers was 9-0 and ranked seventh in the nation at the time, but fell 30-11 on Nov. 18.

This year, the upset came one week before the Cincinnati game, as the Scarlet Knights slipped 11 spots in the poll after losing 34-24 to Maryland on Saturday. Rutgers pulled within three with 4:41 remaining on Ray Rice 's 1-yard touchdown run, but Mike Teel was sacked and fumbled at the Scarlet Knights ' 20-yard line with 2 minutes to play, leading to another Maryland score.

"We have a lot of resolve," said Teel, 25-of-44 for a season-high 310 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. "I am sure we will turn it around. Our job is to win football games and we will now work on improving so we are ready for this week."

Rutgers has the 13th-highest scoring offense in the nation at 40.5 points per game, but it rushed for a season-low 82 yards last week after racking up more than 200 on the ground in each of the previous three games. The Scarlet Knights were held to seven points in the second half by the Terrapins.

Rutgers' inability to get started offensively was a big problem, but there was equal concern about the defense, which allowed 458 yards of offense. Plus, the Scarlet Knights may not have safety Ron Girault against the high-scoring Bearcats after Girault suffered an ankle injury last week, leaving his status uncertain for Saturday.

"We just have to regroup, get our medical situation assessed, and then make plans and get better," said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, whose team had held its three previous opponents to 27 total points going into the matchup with the Terps. "Sometimes when a team is out they bounce back. We'll just have to see how good we are."