Husker Doc Talk: The Season Starts! UTEP-Nebraska Football Preview

A deep dive into Saturday's matchup, plus a great story from Dr. Rob about his first time out of the tunnel as a redshirt freshman for the Huskers.

Dr. Rob Zatechka /

The long wait is over! The Huskers' football season kicks off on Saturday against UTEP. This is the first meeting between the Miners and Nebraska. Travis Justice and Dr. Rob Zatechka take a deep dive into the matchup on this edition of the Doc Talk Podcast.

Nebraska is opening the season at home for the first time since 2019. The Huskers are 12-0 at home against nonconference teams in the month of August and 10-0 when at Memorial Stadium in August. That unbeaten streak should stay intact against a UTEP team coming to Lincoln with a new head coach and a team that has to replace almost all of its offensive production from a year ago and lost its top defensive player. 

All eyes will be on Huskers quarterback Dylan Raiola, who will become just the second true freshman in the post-World War II era to start the season under center for Nebraska. The other was Adrian Martinez in 2018. There's been a lot of hype around Raiola. Will he live up to the expectations? Dr. Rob gives his expert opinion. 

Dr. Rob also explains what a player goes through while preparing to take the field for the first time, and he shares a hilarious story about his first time out of the tunnel as a redshirt freshman. Listen or watch below:

Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can find past episodes and our weekly show, Behind The Point Spread. Scott Spreitzer joins us for the third year in a row as we take a gambler's look at some of the top college football games of the week, including Nebraska's showdown with UTEP. 

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