Takeaways: What we learned from Cincinnati Bearcats' 29-27 'chaotic' win at SMU

Top programs don't rebuild, they reload.

University of Cincinnati football coach Luke Fickell and his staff's collective hope this season was that there wouldn't be much of a drop-off from the Bearcats' record-setting season of a year ago.

After Cincinnati's narrow 29-27 win Saturday at SMU, it's evident Fickell's squad is still laden with talent, but the discipline is lacking.

"No matter what, you've got to be able to play in some chaos, and chaos is when the situations get really tight," Fickell said. "Our guys have done a phenomenal job at playing in some of that chaos. I think we've unfortunately created some of that chaos and put ourselves in some of those situations."

Despite another chaotic victory, Cincinnati (6-1, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) cleared its objective.

The objective on game day is to win, that's it, and the Bearcats did that for the sixth straight time. They'll look to do it again this Saturday at UCF (3:30 p.m. on ESPN). Cincinnati, which on Sunday climbed one spot to No. 20 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, will face a Knights squad (5-2, 2-1) looking to rebound from a 34-13 loss at East Carolina.

USA TODAY AFCA Coaches Poll:Tennessee grabs No. 3 spot from Michigan; Georgia still No. 1

College football rundown:Results, recaps from every Top 25 game

What we learned from Saturday's win:

Cincinnati survived several mistakes and miscues vs. SMU

The Bearcats' talent is allowing them to overcome their mistakes. But how long will that last?

Cincinnati committed 14 penalties for 127 yards. Both were a season high. Outside of maybe two calls, particularly a questionable pass-interference penalty on graduate safety Ja'Von Hicks that negated Hicks' 10th career interception on SMU's final drive, the officials were fairly accurate with their flags and whistles.

Fickell has said he doesn't mind the aggressive penalties. He likes that his guys are playing hard and doesn't want to take that away from them. But he's also said he doesn't like the "stupid" penalties. Like the personal fouls, late hits and multiple false starts.

"Six or seven of them were false starts on the offensive side of the ball," Fickell said of his team's 14 penalties in Saturday's win. "We struggle with some of those situations. We're aggressive, and I don't want to say we're too aggressive, but we've got to be smarter. There's a balance to what we're doing and we haven't quite found the mix of that. And that's on me. That falls on my shoulders to do a better job at emphasizing the discipline to how we do things, the control at which we play with. There's a part of me that wants to play with that edge, but we can't put ourselves in these situations. It allows for us to, I don't want to say not get a call, but when you don't handle yourself in the best way, you put yourself in some of those situations. I don't think the human-element nature is going to fall your way in a lot of situations. We've got to own that."

The penalties show a lack of discipline and are allowing Cincinnati's opponents to stick around. The flags were a contributing factor to the Bearcats' season-opening loss at Arkansas. Their mistakes haven't kept them from winning since. But they're walking dangerously close to that line.

UC's offensive struggles (particularly in or near the red zone)

Another big issue for the Bearcats on Saturday was the offense, particularly the passing game.

Senior quarterback Ben Bryant saw his first game action since suffering a concussion during a play in the fourth quarter of Cincinnati's 28-24, come-from-behind win against South Florida on Oct. 8.

"Where he got hit with no penalty when he slid?" Fickell quipped when asked about the play following the SMU game.

Bryant, who at one point this season led the AAC in completion percentage, struggled against the Mustangs. He completed 18 of 35 passes for 200 yards and failed to find the end zone.

But it wasn't all Bryant's fault.

"This wind today is not the easiest thing," Fickell said. "And I don't think it's easy both ways, when you're throwing with it or against it. He (Bryant) was really under control. The thing that's unique about Ben is we probably had six drops today, and I don't know if you could tell if the ball was completed or dropped if you watched Ben. To me, that's the sign of a great leader. That's the sign of a great quarterback. His emotions don't rise and fall."

The Bearcats officially had four drops against the Mustangs. Senior wide receiver and team captain Tre Tucker had two of them, and Nick Mardner accounted for the other two, including a wide-open drop in the end zone.

As Bryant worked to overcome the drops by his usually sure-handed wideouts and the gusts of wind swirling through Dallas, the Cincinnati offense stalled, repeatedly, driving inside the 25-yard line five times and settling for field-goal attempts instead of touchdowns.

Ryan Coe, Mason Fletcher kick Bearcats to victory

While the offense struggled, junior kicker Ryan Coe did not.

Despite the Bearcats' success a season ago, Cincinnati was among the worst field-goal kicking teams in the FBS. That prompted Fickell and his staff to peek into the transfer portal and snag the Delaware transfer.

Coe, who connected on 14 of his 17 field-goal attempts (23-for-23 on extra points) last season for the Blue Hens, entered Saturday 4-for-7 on field goals to start his Bearcats career. Coe put that slow start behind him at SMU.

Coe, who earned a spot on the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award, presented annually to the top kicker in college football, knocked in a program-record five field goals against the Mustangs. One was from 52 yards out, one yard shy of his career long.

"The wind definitely helped," Coe admitted. "Going against the wind hurt me a little bit. You could tell on kickoffs. On kickoffs the other way, I had touchbacks all game. I definitely probably had 15-to-20-miles-per-hour winds at my back all game. That definitely played a part in my confidence towards those kicks. It was definitely good for me."

Another beneficiary of the wind was Coe's kicking partner, punter Mason Fletcher. The sophomore booted one punt that traveled 84 yards through the end zone. It was the longest punt in AAC history, program history and the longest in the FBS this season.

Fletcher, who has already garnered national recognition for his leg this season, punted three times for an average of 65 yards on Saturday.

"Fletch has been having a really good season," Coe said. "I've honestly just really enjoyed watching him be able to punt and just do what he does. He's a special kind of guy. He showed it today and he's showed it every week so far this season."

Charles McClelland continues to shine for Cincinnati

Former Roger Bacon High School star Corey Kiner is Cincinnati's running back of the future, but Bearcats senior Charles McClelland is the back of the present, and he showed that again on Saturday.

Before this season, McClelland was trying to find his way to the front of a crowded running back room. Now, he's the leader in the Cincinnati backfield.

McClelland carried the ball 16 times for 129 yards and a touchdown. He raced a career-long 76 yards for the score. It was McClelland's second straight 100-yard game, third of the season and fifth of his career.

As Week 1 starting running back Ryan Montgomery continues to work his way back after suffering multiple cracked ribs in the season opener at Arkansas, and Kiner, a LSU transfer, continues to find his place in the Bearcats offense, Fickell, offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli and running backs coach Darren Paige have had to call on McClelland to carry the load in the running game. He's more than answered the bell.

"He's been unfortunate to have two season-ending injuries with ACLs, where he was playing a lot and then all of a sudden his season's taken away from him," Fickell said of the Homerville, Georgia, native. "His resiliency, his passion to get back and to be with his brothers and continue to play has meant so much to us. Even when he started the season as maybe the third guy (at running back on the depth chart) going into Week 1, he's completely elevated his game and has proven to us that that type of resiliency and that belief in what you're doing pays off in the long run."

Luke Fickell is Cincinnati's all-time leader in wins

In just 70 games as Cincinnati's head coach, Fickell is already the program's all-time wins leader.

The 49-year-old coach on Saturday recorded his 54th win (54-16) at the helm of the Bearcats program. That passed Rick Minter for the most as Bearcats head coach. Minter compiled a 53-63-1 record at Cincinnati from 1994-2003.

In the locker room after the game, Cincinnati Director of Athletics John Cunningham presented Fickell with a ball commemorating the milestone.

Fickell then reluctantly took a moment to appreciate the accomplishment. But he couldn't do it without thanking the players and people who made it happen.

"That's quite a feat, not for me but for our program," he said. "Especially those guys who left last year and the example and the culture they created, and these guys this year that have accepted that and tried to find ways to continue to enhance it and create that 'us' image. I mean, somebody's going to get the credit, right? This is a credit-seeking society, and someone's got to be the one that they give the credit to. But the reality is, we know where the credit really goes. So, I'm proud to accept that in some ways, but really say thank you to all those guys that have done this."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati football: Takeaways from Bearcats' win at SMU Mustangs