Peyton Manning isn’t pretending to be torn up about this one. With No.
14 Tennessee set to host No. 1 Texas this weekend, the Volunteers legend is making his side pretty clear: he loves his alma mater, but he’s not going to pull against his nephew Arch.
That’s the awkward spot Manning finds himself in for a massive SEC showdown at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee fans might have hoped for a clean, old-school Vols endorsement, but Manning said family comes first when the two collide.
“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.”
So yes, that means Manning is siding with blood over orange for this one. And honestly, that’s hard to argue with.
The bigger picture is that Tennessee still has a real shot to make this weekend memorable. Both teams are 3-0 and ranked in the Top 15, which only adds to the buzz around a game that already has Knoxville buzzing. College GameDay is headed to town, and the atmosphere around campus is expected to be electric all week.
Manning’s stance also pretty much takes him out of the conversation for the guest picker spot on College GameDay. That’s no surprise given where his loyalties are going to land on Saturday. The question now becomes who gets the honor instead, with names like Morgan Wallen or Candace Parker floating around.
Whoever it is, the hope is that the pick helps set the tone for a huge day in SEC country. The Vols opened as 5.5-point underdogs, but that number isn’t likely to matter much inside the locker room. Faizon Brandon, Arion Carter, Braylon Staley, David Sanders Jr., and the rest of the group are expected to be locked in when kickoff arrives.
Manning may be pulling for Arch, but if Tennessee pulls off the upset, it probably won’t take him long to come around.
In Other News...
Texas Coach Just Added More Fuel To Neyland Before Tennessee Showdown
Steve Sarkisian did the Volunteers a favor without meaning to, giving Neyland Stadium another shot of energy before Texas comes to Knoxville. The Longhorns coach called it the loudest stadium in the country ahead of the matchup, and that kind of praise only adds to the atmosphere around a game already carrying plenty of weight, with No. 1 Texas visiting No. 14 Tennessee in the annual Checker Neyland showcase.
The setting figures to be huge even by Tennessee standards, with more than 100,000 seats packed into a noon ET kickoff on ABC and a College GameDay spotlight attached. For the Vols, it is the kind of moment that can turn a September game into a full-scale event, and Sarkisian's comments only sharpen the sense that Texas knows exactly what it is walking into. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Manning Puts Texas-Tennessee GameDay In An Awkward Spot
ESPN is bringing College GameDay to Knoxville ahead of the Sept. 26 matchup between Texas and Tennessee, setting up one of the more intriguing pregame stages of the early season. The backdrop is already loaded for Volunteers fans, with Tennessee hosting a marquee nonconference game and national attention set to descend on campus before kickoff.
The wrinkle is Peyton Manning. The former Tennessee quarterback has made it clear he would back his nephew, Texas quarterback Arch Manning, over his alma mater if asked to choose, and ESPN still has not announced its guest picker. That has left local observers wondering whether Manning would even be the fit for the role, giving GameDay an awkward little subplot before the show has a chance to get rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Fans Have A New College GameDay Guest Picker Tease
A familiar Tennessee buzz has started building around this weeks College GameDay show, and it has a local twist that Vols fans know well. Morgan Wallen, the Knoxville-born country singer, has emerged as a rumored guest picker for the pregame hit ahead of Tennessees matchup with Texas, giving the buildup around the game a little extra star power.
The speculation picked up after a Tennessee vs. Texas T-shirt dated for the game appeared on Wallens website, which naturally sent fans hunting for clues. ESPN has not made an official announcement yet, and the list of possible names still includes Candace Parker, Leanne Morgan and Peyton Manning, so the reveal is still very much part of the storyline heading into Saturday. [Read more 🡒]