Bearcats Beat: Looking at the key players to watch on the Nebraska Cornhuskers

CINCINNATI — Bearcats head coach Scott Satterfield, defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt, quarterback Brendan Sorsby, and cornerback Logan Wilson all echoed the same sentiment Tuesday afternoon that they’re ready to just go out there and play a game.

That wait is finally over, as the Bearcats take the field, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, to battle the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

This is not opening the season against Eastern Kentucky or Towson. The Bearcats are playing a team out of the Big Ten that’s seemingly on the upswing. Cincinnati is hoping they’re on an upswing as a program, as well, despite ending 2024 with a five-game losing streak to fall from 5-2 to 5-7.

Nebraska is coming off a 2024 season where they made their first bowl game since 2016. Head coach Matt Rhule has the Cornhuskers trending up for the first time since they joined the Big Ten back in 2011, and his teams are known for hitting their stride in his third season as head coach. The Cornhuskers were picked to finish eighth in Cleveland.com’s Big Ten Media Preseason Poll.

Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola gets most of the attention, but there are other players worth watching Thursday night.

Let’s look at Raiola and four other players to watch on the Cornhuskers Thursday night.

Quarterback: Dylan Raiola — 6-3, 230 lbs. So. Buford, Ga.
Raiola is more than just a player who fans see on social media linked to Patrick Mahomes. In 2024, he became just the second true freshman quarterback at Nebraska since World War II to start the season opener. It was the start of a season where Raiola set program records by a Freshman in completion percentage (67.1) and passing yards (2,819). Raiola’s 67.1 completion percentage led all FBS Freshman quarterbacks and ranked 13th in the country overall.

The top quarterback commit in the country in 2024, according to 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals, Raiola played his Senior season at Buford High School in Georgia after playing his Junior season in Arizona and Sophomore season in Texas. In his high school career, Raiola passed for nearly 8,500 yards with 88 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions, according to MaxPreps.

Dylan comes from an athletic family. His father, Dominic, played at Nebraska from 1997 to 2000. He was a redshirt on their 1997 national championship team and an All-American and Rimington Trophy winner- given to the nation’s top center- in 2000. He played 14 seasons with the Detroit Lions, becoming the first player in team history to start 200 games. Dominic’s number 54 is retired at Nebraska.

In addition, Dylan’s uncle, Donovan, is Nebraska’s offensive line coach.

Four Players to Watch on Nebraska

1. #2 Wide Receiver, Jacory Barney Jr.: 6-0, 170 lbs. So. Florida City, Fla.
Satterfield and Veidt were asked about Dane Key on Tuesday. However, there’s another player among Nebraska’s receiving corps worth watching. That’s Jacory Barney Jr.

Like Raiola, Barney is coming off a record-setting Freshman season in 2024, hauling in 55 receptions. According to PFF, Barney led the country in most targets (76) without a drop. Not only that, but he also rushed for 130 yards on 10 carries, with three of them going for touchdowns. Barney also had 285 kick return yards to lead the team in that category.

What does that tell you? It’s that Barney can impact the game in multiple ways. Key is the wide receiver to know about, but Barney is the wide receiver to watch, in my opinion.

2. #21 Running Back, Emmett Johnson: 5-11, 200 lbs. Jr. Minneapolis
Johnson has been building for a huge third season after a solid first three seasons in Lincoln. He’s coming off a 2024 season where he led the Cornhuskers in all-purpose yards with 908. The former top-ranked player in Minnesota, Johnson was second on the team with 598 rushing yards while setting career highs with 39 receptions for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Those 39 receptions are the most by a Nebraska running back since 2007.

As a Redshirt-Freshman in 2023, Johnson started six of the final seven games and helped the Cornhuskers rank second in the Big Ten in rushing by rushing for 411 yards and two touchdowns on 90 carries.

3. #33 Linebacker Marques Watson-Trent: 5-11, 225 lbs. Sr. Pittsburgh; Georgia Southern Transfer
Watson-Trent is highly accomplished, coming to Lincoln for the 2025 season looking to help Nebraska’s new-look front seven mesh on the field. Ranking second among all active FBS players with 365 tackles, Watson-Trent was the 2024 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time First-Team All-Sun Belt. In 2024, the former Honorable Mention All-American had 120 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks with four forced fumbles.

4. #8 Defensive Back, DeShon Singleton: 6-3, 210 lbs. Sr. Greensburg, La.; Hutchinson (Kan.) CC Transfer
The Cornhuskers are returning four starters in their secondary that has a combined 97 career starts. Defensive back DeShon Singleton is the player to watch.

Coming off a season-ending injury in 2023, Singleton started all 13 games in 2024 to record a career-high 71 tackles to rank second on the team. Singleton had three passes defended, one interception, and one fumble recovery.

Head Coach: Matt Rhule (3rd Season, 12-13) – 50 years old
One of just 12 active FBS head coaches to lead three different programs to a bowl game, Matt Rhule looks to be doing at Nebraska what he did at Temple and Baylor. It’s impressive to consider that each of Rhule’s eight previous teams either duplicated or increased his win total from the previous season. Nebraska went 7-6 in 2024, a two-win improvement from 2023.

Rhule was the head coach at Baylor from 2017-2019 and led one of the most impressive turnarounds in recent college football history. Baylor went 1-11 in 2017. In 2019, they went 11-3 and played in the Big 12 Championship and Sugar Bowl, becoming the first Power Five Conference program to go from 11 losses to 11 wins in two or fewer seasons.

At Temple from 2013-2016, Rhule took an Owls program that went 2-10 in 2013 to back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2015 and 2016, their first back-to-back 10-win seasons in program history. Rhule was also Temple’s offensive coordinator for four seasons from 2008-2011, leading the Owls to a bowl win in 2011 for the first time since 1979.

This is Rhule’s ninth season as a head coach in college, and he was also the head coach of the Carolina Panthers for two-plus seasons from 2020-2022. He played four seasons as a linebacker at Penn State.

Offensive Coordinator: Dana Holgorsen (2nd Season, 1st Full Season) – 54 years old
One of the best offensive-minded head coaches of the last 20 years, Holgorsen came to Nebraska as a mid-season hire last year. He was the Cornhuskers offensive coordinator for the final four games in 2024, and he brings an impressive track record.

In six seasons as an offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, Holgorsen’s offenses have an average national ranking of second in passing offense, third in total offense, and sixth in scoring.

Last season, Nebraska beat Wisconsin for the first time since 2012 and won a bowl game for the first time since 2015. Dylan Raiola completed 72 percent of his passes through those four games and averaged 225 passing yards per game. Emmett Johnson averaged 121 scrimmage yards per game.

Holgorsen has been the head coach at Houston and West Virginia, with a 92-69 record and a Big East Championship in 2011.

Defensive Coordinator: John Butler (1st Season) – 52 years old
A product of Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott’s defensive coaching staff, where he spent six seasons as their defensive backs coach, Butler is in his second season with Nebraska, with this being his first as their defensive coordinator. The Bills were a top-five passing defense three times during Butler’s six seasons as defensive backs coach.

Butler will remain the secondary coach as well, having served in that role last year. His secondary was strong in 2024, and they are the most experienced group on the Cornhuskers defense coming into the season. Nebraska held five teams to fewer than 200 passing yards in 2024 to help a run defense that ranked eighth in the country.

With the Bills, Butler’s defenses had 99 interceptions through his six seasons while allowing just 111 passing touchdowns. Through those six seasons, the Bills’ defense ranked first in the NFL in total yards per game, passing yards allowed per game, passing yards allowed per completion, passing yards allowed per attempt, touchdown passes allowed, opponent passer rating, and passing first downs allowed. In addition, the Bills defense ranked second in the NFL in points allowed over Butler’s six seasons on staff, with the Bills winning at least 11 games from 2020-2023.

Butler has also served as Penn State’s defensive coordinator in 2013, and he’s also been the special teams coach at Minnesota and South Carolina.

Keys to the Game

1. Stop the run
Sometimes, it’s the simplest and clichéd things that become the biggest keys to the game. In this case, that’s the Bearcats being able to stop the run and prevent Emmett Johnson from getting going on the ground. Nebraska’s offense is built on its ability to run the football. Take that away and make Raiola beat you with his arm, and that will allow the Bearcats secondary to show if they’ve made the improvements necessary to prevent big plays and keep opposing offenses at bay.

2. Start fast
Playing in Kansas City, which is just over 200 miles from Lincoln, the crowd could very well be pro-Nebraska. If you’re the Bearcats, you have to come out and throw a punch early. Whether it’s Antwan Peek Jr. literally punching the ball out or Simeon Coleman getting to Raiola, the Bearcats have to send a message to the crowd and the Cornhuskers that they’re here to play. The Bearcats can’t let Nebraska dictate the flow and tempo of this game. They have to set the tone early.

3. Limit the turnovers
Nebraska’s defense had 11 interceptions and three returned for touchdowns in 2024. They have a secondary that will look to take the ball away. Brendan Sorsby needs to take care of the ball Thursday night and play with confidence. He said Tuesday that Satterfield trusts him more going into this season. Thursday night will be the first time we get to see what that means.

4. Play with urgency
How many times last season, particularly through the final five games, did we see the Bearcats opponents look like they had a better plan? The Bearcats offense couldn’t move the ball in chunks of yardage or push it down the field. That has to change, especially when playing against a Nebraska team that has a lot of new players up front. Urgency must be high from the opening kickoff; otherwise, the Nebraska fans will be very into the game, and that could cause a lot of problems for the Bearcats offense.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 35 – Bearcats 24
I’m still skeptical of how exactly this Bearcats team will look this season. The reports out of Fall Camp have been encouraging, but now it’s time for that to translate onto the field. This is a formidable opponent the Bearcats are facing. The Cornhuskers have a strong duo of offensive and defensive coordinators, plus a head coach with a proven track record. That’s troubling going into this game Thursday night, and I believe that will be what decides it.