The Victory Bell is staying at the University of Cincinnati.
The Bearcats used timely playmaking and again overcame their own mistakes to defeat in-state rival Miami University 38-17 in the 126th Battle for the Victory Bell Saturday at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati. The victory extended UC's winning streak against the RedHawks (1-2) to 16 games.
Cincinnati (2-1), which grabbed its first overall lead (60-59-7) in the series since 1915, hasn't lost to its rival from Oxford since Sept. 28, 2005.
"We hadn't had the lead since 1915," UC coach Luke Fickell said. "We had talked about that all week. ... The respect for the rivalry is definitely alive and well."
The Bearcats will host Indiana next Saturday at Nippert Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for either 3:30 p.m. or 4 p.m. on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. The time and network had not been announced at press time.
Here's what we learned from Saturday's win.
Ben Bryant stays hot
A week after completing 16 of 19 passes against Kennesaw State, Cincinnati quarterback Ben Bryant connected on his first 12 attempts against the RedHawks.
The senior Eastern Michigan transfer started a perfect 12-for-12 en route to earning his second straight victory against Miami. Bryant led the EMU Eagles to a 13-12 win over the RedHawks last season.
"I felt really comfortable," Bryant said. "Those guys (the offensive line) did such a good job. If they're going to continue to do that... In the beginning of the game, I was like, 'This feels like 7-on-7.' Like, I'm just sitting back there, just throwing the ball. I'm really happy I've got those guys up front."
Bryant finished Saturday with 337 yards on 26-of-35 passing and two touchdowns. Bryant linked up with junior wide receiver Tyler Scott on a 41-yard score on second-and-25. Bryant missed Scott on a few deep throws in the season opener.
Bryant completed passes to eight different targets. Scott (119) and fellow receiver Tre Tucker (105) each had 100-plus yards Saturday. It marked the first time the Bearcats had two 100-yard receivers in the same game since Devin Gray (143) and Thomas Geddis (104) against Tulsa on Nov. 25, 2016.
Bryant's lone interception of the day came on a deflected ball in the third quarter.
Ivan Pace Jr. shines against former team
It didn't take long for Cincinnati's leading tackler, senior linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., to make the RedHawks feel his presence. The Miami transfer ended the first quarter with a sack of former teammate Aveon Smith. Pace ended the day with eight tackles (five solo).
"It definitely was emotional because that's my old team," Pace said. "It's just I've been practicing with them for three years and then came over here. It was pretty awkward because I know what they can do, and they know what I can do. Every tackle I got, it was like fighting for it."
Pace now has a team-high 31 stops through three games with the Bearcats.
Penalties still plague Bearcats
After watching his team commit 10 penalties in each of the first two games, Fickell said he doesn't want to eliminate the aggressive penalties, he just wants to eliminate the "stupid ones."
Well, Cincinnati defensive lineman Jowon Briggs committed an offside penalty on the first play of the game. That aided a seven-play, 75-yard opening drive for Miami that resulted in a touchdown.
"It's an Achilles' heel," Fickell said of the penalties. "Some guys go in there late in the game, and (the penalties) continue to happen. But there's where we've got to continue to grow."
Briggs' penalty was one of 10 for the Bearcats on the day. That's three straight games with 10 penalties (10 penalties for 99 yards on Saturday) for Cincinnati.
Fumbles, fumbles and more fumbles
Miami's 10 other first-half points came off Cincinnati turnovers.
Bearcats junior wide receiver Jadon Thompson fumbled on the first offensive dirvie. Thompson's turnover led to a 36-yard field goal for the RedHawks. Then running back Charles McClelland coughed it up in the second quarter. The senior's fumble led to a touchdown.
Without the costly turnovers, the Bearcats would have won even more convincingly.
Mason Fletcher can boom it
Having the ability to "flip the field" and set up the opposing offense with poor field position is invaluable. Cincinnati sophomore punter Mason Fletcher showed again Saturday that he can do just that.
Fletcher punted five times for a nearly 50 yards per kick. One of Fletcher's punt went for 67 yards, a career high for the Melbourne, Australia, native.
"Where we're really good is when he has to get it off, he can get in a rhythm of 1.7 (getting the punt off in 1.7 seconds) because that's what we do on a daily basis," Fickell said. "So it makes it really good on our part. He's done a phenomenal job. He's not rattled by the seven or eight guys that they tried to bring after him."