‘College GameDay’ Makes Peyton Manning Announcement Before Texas-Tennessee Game

Tennessee legend Peyton Manning will be back in Knoxville on Saturday for ESPN's "College GameDay," and his visit comes hours before his nephew, Arch Manning, leads No. 1 Texas into Neyland Stadium against No. 14 Tennessee.

ESPN announced Friday that the former Vols quarterback will join analyst Pat McAfee for the "Kicking is Easy" contest. The segment, now in its fourth season, picks fans from the crowd to try one 33-yard field goal with no warm-up kicks.

McAfee has given away more than $8 million in prizes and charity donations during his time on the show.

College GameDay lineup in Knoxville

Peyton Manning will be back in Knoxville and will join us for @PatMcAfeeShow's "Kicking Is Easy" Contest 👏

Can't wait to see you tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/Ip4GqyVv9A
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 25, 2026

The show will air from 9 a.m. to noon ET on ESPN, ESPNU, Disney+ and the ESPN App. The first two hours will come from the Ayres Hall Lawn, and the final hour will move inside Neyland Stadium.

Actor Johnny Knoxville, a Knoxville native and "Jackass" star, will serve as the guest picker. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel will also join the show from inside the stadium.

This is the 13th time "College GameDay" has come to Tennessee's campus. President Donald Trump is also set to attend the game, so officials have warned fans about extra security and travel delays.

Who will Peyton Manning root for?

‘College GameDay’ Makes Peyton Manning Announcement Before Texas-Tennessee Game — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Arch Manning wears No. 16 for the Longhorns, the same number Tennessee retired for his uncle. That puts the Vols legend between his old school and his family this weekend.

Peyton Manning answered the rooting question in June at the Manning Passing Academy.

"One of the kids was asking me earlier who I was going to go for," Peyton Manning said. "And I said, 'Well, who do you think?' And he said that he would go for his school over his relative. And I went, 'Well, you and I are different. You and I are wired differently.' Nothing's more important than your family."

He added, "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."

Some Vols fans were upset by the answer, and others defended him. The 1998 No. 1 overall draft pick threw for 11,201 yards from 1994 to 1997, which remains the most in school history.

He later won Super Bowls with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos and entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

Texas vs. Tennessee kickoff

No. 1 Texas (3-0) and No. 14 Tennessee (3-0) kick off at noon ET on ABC. It's the first regular-season meeting between the two programs. Their three past games all came on New Year's Day at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

The matchup is also Tennessee's first SEC game of the season. Neyland Stadium is sold out for the 30th consecutive game.

Add us as a preferred source on Google