Bearcats Fend Off SMU 29-27

DALLAS (AP) — Ryan Coe kicked a school-record five field goals, including a season-long 52-yarder, and No. 21 Cincinnati broke up a game-tying two-point play in the closing minutes to hold on for a 29-27 win over SMU on Saturday for its sixth consecutive win.

Charles McClelland and Ryan Montgomery scored on runs of 76 yards and 1 yard for the Bearcats (6-1, 3-0 American), who won their 19th in a row against against American Athletic Conference opponents.

Tyler Lavine scored on a 1-yard plunge with 1:57 to pull SMU (3-4, 1-2) within two, but Preston Stone’s 2-point conversion pass intended for Roderick Daniels Jr. was incomplete.

Stone, a redshirt freshman, replaced starter Tanner Mordecai, who left the game and the field late in the third quarter with an apparent injury.

Coe’s other field goals were from 44, 31, 30 and 25 yards. He’s in first season at Cincinnati after kicking for Delaware, where he hit from 53 yards. Coe had a 45-yard attempt blocked in the fourth quarter.

Cincinnati’s Mason Fletcher boomed an 84-yard punt with the help of a healthy breeze at his back following the Bearcats’ first possession for the longest punt in college football this season and an AAC and school record. The sophomore from Australia made contact at Cincinnati’s 5-yard line. The ball landed at SMU’s 20 and bounced into the end zone for a touchback.

The Mustangs’ other touchdowns came on a 3-yard run by TJ McDaniel in the second quarter, a 1-yard pass from Mordecai to Jordan Kerley in the second quarter and a 16-yard pass from Stone to RJ Maryland in the fourth quarter.

POLL IMPLICATION

Two of the three teams just ahead of Cincinnati in the poll (No. 18 Illinois, No. 19 Kentucky) were off Saturday. Is a two-point win enough for the Bearcats to rise a few spots?

THE TAKEAWAY

CINCINNATI: After reaching last season’s College Football Playoff, the realistic goal as the top-ranked team from the Group of 5 continues to be a third consecutive New Year’s Six bowl.

SMU: Are six wins and a bowl invitation within reach for the Mustangs with home games against Houston and Memphis and a trip to Tulane remaining?

UP NEXT

CINCINNATI: Visits UCF next Saturday.

SMU: Plays at Tulsa next Saturday.