Coach is joined by  veteran college football journalists Dennis Dodd and Tony Barnhart to preview the highly anticipated 2026 season. Coach leads the panel through a comprehensive breakdown of the sport's current landscape. The guests provide their seasoned perspectives as college football enters its 157th year, bringing deep industry knowledge to the complex intersection of on-field competition and off-field economics.

The segment heavily focused on the financial realities of college athletics, specifically the "rise of athlete media" in the sixth year of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). The panel discussed Opendorse data revealing Instagram's dominance in influencer deals, the massive athletic spending gap between the Big Ten and the Big 12, and the potential impact of the Cruz-Cantwell bill on conference realignment and collective bargaining. The conversation then shifted to a draft of the top storylines for 2026, featuring debates over championship-or-bust expectations for teams like Oregon and Texas, Lane Kiffin’s high-pressure tenure at LSU, and the Big Ten's quest for a fourth consecutive national title. The episode wrapped up with a look ahead to premier matchups—including Ohio State at Texas and Clemson at LSU—and a nod to the upcoming SEC Media Days in Tampa.

<p data-path-to-node="1">Coach is joined by&nbsp; veteran college football journalists Dennis Dodd and Tony Barnhart to preview the highly anticipated 2026 season. Coach leads the panel through a comprehensive breakdown of the sport's current landscape. The guests provide their seasoned perspectives as college football enters its 157th year, bringing deep industry knowledge to the complex intersection of on-field competition and off-field economics.</p>
<p data-path-to-node="2">The segment heavily focused on the financial realities of college athletics, specifically the "rise of athlete media" in the sixth year of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). The panel discussed Opendorse data revealing Instagram's dominance in influencer deals, the massive athletic spending gap between the Big Ten and the Big 12, and the potential impact of the Cruz-Cantwell bill on conference realignment and collective bargaining. The conversation then shifted to a draft of the top storylines for 2026, featuring debates over championship-or-bust expectations for teams like Oregon and Texas, Lane Kiffin&rsquo;s high-pressure tenure at LSU, and the Big Ten's quest for a fourth consecutive national title. The episode wrapped up with a look ahead to premier matchups&mdash;including Ohio State at Texas and Clemson at LSU&mdash;and a nod to the upcoming SEC Media Days in Tampa.</p>

Not many analysts in the midsouth have as much football expertise as Doug Mathews brings to the microphone every Saturday morning. It’s Forklift System’s Football Saturday on 104-5 The Zone.

Mathews, best known for his 10 seasons as Running Backs Coach and Defensive Coordinator for the University of Tennessee, tells it like it is and lets you take show where you want to go every weekend.

Forklift Systems Football Saturday covers all the big games across the nation, including all the action within the Southeastern Conference. It’s the perfect preview before you catch your favorite team play Saturday afternoon. Featuring long-time college football writer Tony Barnhart and NFL analyst Charles Davis.