Even though the Cincinnati Bearcats blew past Indiana to secure a third straight win to end non-conference play, the second half was sloppy and uninspired. A slew of defensive penalties and unforced errors on offense put a damper on an otherwise dominant performance.
In order for Cincinnati to repeat as conference champions, the team has to clean up mistakes and stay disciplined for an entire game. Following a dominant first half, the Bearcats started to pick up penalties and failed to move the ball consistently.
Indiana’s defense adjusted to take away the deep ball in the second half and Cincinnati wasn’t able to take advantage on the ground with six punts and just one touchdown drive after halftime. Luke Fickell dissected the performance per Cincinnati Athletics.
"“You have to be able to come out and finish things off by running the football and play clean defensively. I do believe this will really help us grow. There are some young guys that got a bunch of penalties and it was their first real opportunity to play. I think it’s going to be a really big learning experience because we’re going to need them down the stretch.”"
Cincinnati Football: Takeaways from inconsistent performance against Indiana
#Bearcats jumped out to an early lead and capped off non-conference play with a win against Indiana today. During the postgame press conference, @CoachFick, Tyler Scott, Ben Bryant and others discussed the win.https://t.co/qtcLdkZAI1pic.twitter.com/FbjCtp3o8T
— Cincy on the Prowl (@CincyOnTheProwl) September 25, 2022
Penalties have been a problem for the Bearcats in almost every game this season including being a major factor in the season-opening loss at Arkansas. Cincinnati committed 10 penalties against Arkansas, Kennesaw State and Miami for a total of 254 yards.
Even though it was a season low, the Bearcats still committed eight turnovers for 77 yards in the win over Indiana. Most of those came in the dreadful second half as Cincinnati’s secondary started struggling and became careless defending without contact.
Both sides of the ball need to continue to improve moving forward and learn how to finish games with better execution. Later in the press conference, Fickell explained why this was an opportunity for the team to grow via Cincinnati Athletics.
"“I don’t know that we did a good job of finishing. I’m not pointing my finger at any one side of the ball. This is a team that has to play together. I know we’re still growing. This was an opportunity for us to grow because we hadn’t been in that position. You have to be able to come out and finish things off by running the football and play clean defensively.”"