Husker Doc Talk: College Football Playoff Action and the Changes at Nebraska

It’s a Christmas edition of the Husker Doc Talk Podcast, and Travis Justice and Dr. Rob Zatechka are in full postseason form—mixing college football playoff takes, Husker reality checks, and the kind of off-the-rails holiday banter that feels like hanging out with your buddies in the basement… if your buddies also happened to break down offensive line technique and playoff selection politics.

Episode 22 opens with the guys reacting to the first round of the College Football Playoff—what they watched, what surprised them, and what didn’t. From the “coulda/shoulda” playoff arguments (and the clickbait that fuels them) to the teams that looked legit, Travis and Rob debate what the games actually told us. They talk Alabama’s situation under Kalen DeBoer, the pressure of rebuilding in the NIL/portal era, and why judging coaches the same way we used to just doesn’t work anymore.

Then the conversation shifts into one of the most hot-button topics in the sport: playoff expansion. Is 12 enough? (Rob says no.) Should it be 16? 24? Travis says bring it on—especially if it means more on-campus playoff games, which both guys agree are the best thing to happen to the sport in a long time. They dig into the ripple effects of automatic qualifiers, the shifting criteria coming next year, and what it means for Group of Five teams going forward.

From there, it’s back to Lincoln. Travis asks the question Husker fans have been asking: Does Matt Rhule look different? More stressed? More “fishbowl-aware”? Rob reads the body language, talks staff changes, and explains why this moment feels less like a rebuild and more like a reset—new voices, new systems, and possibly a new quarterback era after Dylan Raiola’s departure. The guys also get real about what Nebraska should do next: chase a portal QB… or build around TJ Lateef and invest where it matters most—up front.

Along the way, you’ll get sponsor shout-outs, a peppermint chocolate stout “breakfast beer,” stories from Rob’s debutante weekend, and a quick holiday wrap-up with what’s next for the podcast—more playoff talk, portal moves, and interviews lined up for the new year.

Merry Christmas, Husker fans. Episode 22 is equal parts football, fun, and future-looking—exactly how the holiday edition should be.

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