Eli Manning Praises Ole Miss, Trolls Tennessee During Uniform Discussion on 'Eli's Places'
The two schools are separated by over 400 miles, but the Ole Miss Rebels and Tennessee Volunteers are linked in more ways than just conference affiliation.
For starters, both can lay claim as the starting point for the illustrious career of one of the Mannings, sometimes referred to as the "first family of football." Archie and his youngest son Eli both attended Ole Miss in their college days, and Peyton chose to buck tradition and play for Tennessee.
Outside of the Mannings, the two schools are also linked through current Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. Kiffin spent one season as the head coach at Tennessee before leaving and taking a job with the USC Trojans, and his career road eventually led him to Oxford where he remains today.
Eli and Peyton Manning are no strangers to taking shots at one another on television, including in their broadcast of Monday Night Football, dubbed the "Manningcast," on ESPN2. Last season when Ole Miss escaped Knoxville with a win, Peyton had to wear an Ole Miss jersey during the next Monday night broadcast featuring the brothers.
Such is the case of family rivalries within the SEC.
In a recent promo for his ESPN+ series "Eli's Places," the youngest Manning is shown rating college football uniforms, including sets from both Ole Miss and Tennessee. Here is a video released of the interactions on social media.
"Ole Miss," Manning said. "That's the winner. We don't even have to see any more. That's just the best uniform."
When Tennessee's uniform set came onto stage, Manning had an entirely different reaction.
"I just threw up in my mouth a little bit looking at that thing," Manning said. "Can you give a negative ranking on a uniform? I mean, that's it. What color is that? That's not even real orange.
"It's hard to be intimidating when you look like a creamsicle."
The Rebels and Volunteers don't meet on the gridiron this season, but both are off to solid starts in their 2022 campaign, sitting at 2-0. Ole Miss has its first road test of the season this week when it travels to Atlanta to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.
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