Peyton Manning’s loyalties are about to make Tennessee-Texas a little awkward, and he’s not pretending otherwise.
With No. 14 Tennessee set to host No.
1 Texas this weekend, Manning finds himself in the middle of a family split. His alma mater is on one side, his nephew Arch is on the other, and Manning made it clear he isn’t going to turn against his own blood.
“Obviously it's going to be a huge SEC game,” Manning said. “My dad dealt with it when I was in college, when Tennessee played Ole Miss.
I love my university, I love my alma mater, and I pull for them unconditionally, but nothing's more important to me than my family. When you have a nephew playing, I pull very hard for him every Saturday.
That's pretty much a no-brainer that you're pulling for your nephew to play well, but like I said, everybody knows pretty strongly where my loyalties lie on all other Saturdays.”
That leaves Tennessee fans without the one guest picker they probably hoped to see when College GameDay comes to Knoxville. Manning is out of the mix now, since he’s backing Arch and Texas in this one.
It’s still a huge stage for the Vols. Both teams are 3-0 and sitting in the Top 15, and Tennessee has a real chance to pull off the unthinkable with the whole spotlight trained on Neyland Stadium. The energy around campus is expected to be off the charts all week.
As for the GameDay pick, Manning’s stance likely pushes him off the list. The conversation now turns to other Tennessee names, with Morgan Wallen and Candace Parker mentioned as possibilities. Whoever gets the nod, the hope is they bring the crowd to life before kickoff.
Tennessee opened as a 5.5-point underdog, but that number won’t mean much inside the locker room. Faizon Brandon, Arion Carter, Braylon Staley, David Sanders Jr., and the rest of the team’s leaders will be ready for the moment. Peyton might not love the idea of a Vols upset, but he’ll at least understand exactly why it happened.
In Other News...
LSU Fans Have A New Reason To Be Furious About Ole Miss
Lane Kiffin left Oxford with more than a loss to sort through after LSUs trip to face Ole Miss, zeroing in on what he described as a rules issue tied to the in-game atmosphere. He said the music and crowd noise kept rolling as the centers hand was on the ball, which he argued runs afoul of SEC regulations that require music to stop before the snap.
The complaint only adds another layer to a night LSU would rather forget, with Ole Miss staying unbeaten and the Tigers taking their first loss of the season. For Rebels fans, it is the kind of gripe that usually follows a home win in a loud building, but for LSU it gives the defeat an even sharper edge as the postgame debate shifts from the scoreboard to how the game was played. [Read more 🡒]
Urban Meyer Just Validated What Florida Fans Are Starting To Believe
Florida has spent the week trying to build on the kind of performance that can change a season, and Urban Meyer just added another voice to the optimism around the Gators. Now working as an analyst and part of The Triple Option podcast, Meyer said he expects Florida to beat Ole Miss in the upcoming matchup, pointing to the way the Gators have been playing and the coaching behind it.
Jadan Baugh is part of what Meyer likes about Floridas chances, with the running back emerging as a key piece in the offense. For Ole Miss, it adds another layer to a game already carrying plenty of attention, especially with both teams coming in off recent performances that have shaped how this meeting is being viewed. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Faces A No. 1 Test Some Insiders Don't Trust Them To Pass
Ole Miss is headed into a marquee SEC matchup with plenty of momentum, but not everyone around the sport is sold on the Rebels carrying that confidence into the next step. Both teams arrive at 3-0 after recent conference wins, and the stage is set around quarterback Trinidad Chambliss for Ole Miss and Florida running back Jadan Baugh for the Gators, two players who have helped give their teams early-season belief.
Even Rece Davis, who placed Ole Miss No. 1 in the AP Poll, leaned the other way when it came to the actual result and picked Florida to win. That kind of split view only adds to the intrigue, because it captures the larger question around this game - whether Ole Miss is ready to back up its ranking against a Florida team that has also shown it can handle SEC pressure. [Read more 🡒]