It was inevitable. Eventually, special teams was going to save the day for the University of Cincinnati football team this season.
"At some point in time, we knew it," Bearcats coach Luke Fickell said.
That time came at Southern Methodist University.
Junior kicker Ryan Coe nailed a program-record five field goals and sophomore punter Mason Fletcher booted a program-record and American Athletic Conference-record 84-yard punt in a 29-27 win Oct. 22 at SMU. Fletcher collected AAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for a second time, while Coe was named a Lou Groza Star of the Week and earned a spot on the AAC's weekly honor roll.
The standout efforts by Cincinnati's kickers carried the Bearcats to victory. They also may have symbolized a seismic shift for the UC program.
While the Bearcats made history last season, going 12-0 and then winning their second straight AAC championship en route to earning a spot in the College Football Playoff, they still had an obvious weakness – kicking, particularly field goals.
Cincinnati was 128th of 130 FBS teams in team FG% (47.4% last season). Only Northwestern (46.2%) and Rice (45.5%) were worse.
In search of a solution, Fickell and his staff reached into the transfer portal and snagged Coe. The 6-foot-3, 227-pound former Delaware kicker made 14 of his 17 field-goal attempts (and a perfect 23-for-23 on extra points) for the Blue Hens last season and knocked in a 53-yarder. But Coe entered the SMU matchup just 4-for-7 through his first six games with the Bearcats.
“We had been a little sporadic with our field goals – not just last year, but even this year," Fickell said following the win in Dallas. "We hadn’t kicked a whole bunch. We hadn’t put ourselves in a lot of those situations. But at some point in time, we knew it was going to come down to that. He’s (Coe) been becoming much more consistent throughout the last few weeks of practice. We really needed him today."
Coe, who was good from 30, 25, 52, 44 and 31 yards out against the Mustangs before having his sixth attempt – a 44-yarder – blocked, said his issues early in the season were due to the fact he was just getting used to his new surroundings.
"Definitely coming from Delaware and coming to play at Cincinnati is a bit of a change in terms of the level of football," he said. "I think it took me a little bit of time to get used to that level of football as well as getting comfortable with my guys, my operation, snapper and holder and everything along those lines."
Despite Coe's early struggles, including two missed field goals in Cincinnati's season-opening 31-24 loss at Arkansas, Coe said he never stopped believing in himself or his abilities.
"The coaches have really been behind me," he said. "The players on the team have really been behind me. Those confidence levels have never changed. Obviously, as I start making them and knocking them down, I get a little bit more comfortable on the field. But honestly I think the confidence level doesn't change from the start to the end. I try to keep the same mindset going into every kick."
'Mason Fletcher has done a phenomenal job all last year and all this year'
Fletcher also doesn't lack confidence. The 6-foot-7, 213-pound Melbourne, Australia, native had already been a reliable punter for the Bearcats before shattering Mike Connell's previous school-record punt of 78 yards against Louisiana-Lafayette in 1976.
Fletcher ranks third in the nation this season with a 47.7 punting average. He has booted 16 of his 31 punts inside the 20 with 10 50-yarders.
"Mason Fletcher has done a phenomenal job all last year and all this year," Fickell said. "He is really talented. He does nothing but get better each and every week."
Fletcher sent each of his three punts against the Mustangs at least 50 yards with two dropping inside the 20-yard line. His 65 yards-per-punt average also shattered the program and AAC single-game records. Current Cincinnati Bengals punter Kevin Huber held the old UC single-game record of 58.7. Huber set that in 2007, one of the two seasons (2008) he was named a consensus first-team All-American.
Fletcher is not only kicking through the shadows of Huber, he has also taken on the Bearcats' punting duties after former UC all-conference punter James Smith (2017-20). Smith, like Fletcher, is a product of the Prokick Australia training program that has developed several collegiate, NFL and CFL punters.
"I definitely did feel a lot of pressure," Fletcher said of filling Smith's shoes. "Obviously when someone does a role so well, not only as a college athlete but he obviously went to the pros for a little bit and I think he's still trying there. But yeah, it creates a lot of pressure. But I also put a lot of pressure on myself to do well, and I know I can do it and I probably only really started showing that this year, that I can do it and I can do it at a high level as well."
In addition to being Cincinnati's head coach, the winningest in program history, Fickell also oversees the punt team. So Fickell and Fletcher have naturally developed a close relationship over the last two years. Fletcher said Fickell reminds him a lot of his father, Dustin Fletcher, a former longtime professional athlete in the Australian Football League. Fletcher, who was roommates as a freshman with Fickell's eldest son, UC sophomore offensive lineman Landon Fickell, spent the holidays last year with the Fickell family. Fletcher said that time created a stronger bond with his head coach and a home-away-from-home atmosphere.
"Mrs. Fickell treats me like one of her own, and I think that's probably played a huge part in me not feeling one ounce of homesickness," he said. "I haven't been home yet and I honestly haven't felt the need to."
While Fletcher has felt welcomed by the Fickells, he's also felt the love of the UC students. Fletcher said he's starting to get recognized around campus for his booming blasts. But he said remains unphased by the added attention or the length of his kicks.
"At the end of the day, punting's not about (distance)," Fletcher said. "Everyone loves to talk about distances and stuff like that. But we pride ourselves on net punt, and I think we're two or three in the country at that at the moment and that's all that matters to me."
Cincinnati entered Saturday ranked No. 2 in the FBS in net yards per punt, averaging 45.5 yards. The Bearcats trailed only Michigan State's 46.29 average.