In the Cincinnati Bearcats' 20-17 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Thursday, August 28th, there wasn't much to be excited about from an offensive standpoint. There are two things to be excited about defensively, however.
Matthew McDoom and Logan Wilson both stood out in the Bearcats' secondary. The unit struggled last season being near the top of the Big 12 in passing yards and touchdowns allowed.
Even though the Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola looked like he had a dominant game offensively, the stats help him a little bit. Bearcats' defensive backs Matthew McDoom and Logan Wilson both made huge impacts on the game defensively. McDoom had 5 total tackles and gave up 22 yards, while Wilson had 7 total tackles, 2 pass deflections, and gave up 28 yards. While 50 of Raiola's 243 seems extreme, most of these yards given up didn't come at key moments.
The key to this Bearcat's defense this season will undoubtedly be how they fare in the red zone, which they looked promising in during this matchup. In 3 redzone visits, the Bearcats allowed one field goal (22-yarder) and 2 touchdowns. One of the touchdowns came on 3rd and Goal, and the other came on a short field off a Cincinnati turnover.
If the Bearcats' defense is going to be successful, which I believe they will be, it will be on the backs of McDoom and Wilson.