Cincinnati Football: 3 takeaways from Birmingham Bowl win over Boston College

3. Cincinnati defense showed it is in great shape for future

A big reason why Cincinnati stood out so much against Boston College in the Birmingham Bowl was the Bearcats defense. Coming into the game, they were good but not great defensively, as Cincinnati gave up an average of 233 yards through the air and 143 yards per game on the ground. Where they stood out, though, was in holding teams to 21.7 points per game — ranking first in the American Athletic Conference and 30th nationally.

That defense broke through against Boston College, holding the Eagles scoreless when they had the ball. (Boston College’s lone touchdown came on a field goal block returned the other way for six points.) Cincinnati was just as good at stopping the Eagles when they tried to throw the ball as when they kept it on the ground to run.

Eagles quarterback Dennis Grosel finished the game 8-of-17, throwing for only 87 yards along the way. Boston College struggled just as much running the ball, as the backfield finished with a total of 77 rushing yards on 28 combined carries.

For Cincinnati, what makes this so promising is the fact that redshirt senior middle linebacker Bryan Wright is the only player that will be gone from the unit. The only other loss from the two-deep is cornerback Cam Jeffries, the graduate transfer from Bowling Green who wrapped up his final year of eligibility this year. After a confidence-building showing at Legion Field against Boston College, the Bearcats will go into next season with a wealth of experience on that side of the ball.