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 dive deep into the game in this edition of the Doc Talk Podcast.

Nebraska opens the season at home for the first time since 2019. The Huskers are 12-0 at home against non-conference teams in August and 10-0 at Memorial Stadium in August. That unbeaten streak should continue against a UTEP team that comes to Lincoln with a new head coach and a team that has had to replace almost all of its offensive production from a year ago and lost its best defensive player.

All eyes are on Huskers quarterback Dylan Raiola, who becomes only the second true freshman in the post-World War II era to start the season at center for Nebraska. The other was Adrian Martinez in 2018. There’s a lot of hype surrounding Raiola. Will he live up to expectations? Dr. Rob gives his expert take.

Dr. Rob also explains what a player goes through as he prepares to step onto the field for the first time, and 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 as well as our weekly show Behind The Point Spread. Scott Spreitzer joins us for the third year in a row as we take a betting man’s look at some of the week’s best college football games, including Nebraska’s showdown with UTEP.

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