Will Peyton Manning Be College GameDay’s Guest Picker for Texas-Tennessee?

Peyton Manning is the biggest name in the guest picker debate after ESPN's College GameDay chose Knoxville for No. 1 Texas at Tennessee. The former Vols quarterback would be picking between his alma mater and his nephew.

ESPN will bring the show to Ayres Hall before the Sept. 26 game, which kicks off at noon ET on ABC. Texas quarterback Arch Manning, Peyton's nephew, leads a 3-0 team into Neyland Stadium, and ESPN hasn't named a guest picker.

Peyton Manning's June comments on Arch

Will Peyton Manning Be College GameDay’s Guest Picker for Tennessee-Texas? — Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Peyton already answered the question in June at the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana. He told reporter Chris Gordy that he'll pull for Arch.

"Look, I love my university and alma mater and pull for them unconditionally, but nothing's more important to me than my family," Peyton said. "And when you have a nephew playing, I pull very hard for him every single Saturday. So that's pretty much a no-brainer that you're pulling for your nephew to play well."

The Pro Football Hall of Famer also shared a story from camp.

"One of the kids was asking me earlier who I was going to go for," he said. "I said, 'Who do you think?' and he said that he would go for his school over his relative. I went, 'Well, you and I are different. You and I are wired differently.'"

His father, Archie Manning, faced the same choice in the 1990s. Archie starred at Ole Miss, and Peyton's Tennessee teams beat the Rebels 41-3 in Memphis in 1996 and 31-17 in Knoxville in 1997.

Why might Peyton Manning skip GameDay?

Peyton has done the job before. He was the guest picker in October 2022, when Tennessee beat Alabama 52-49 in Knoxville. He also works with ESPN as host of the ManningCast on Monday Night Football.

Still, Knoxville writers don't expect him to take the seat. Knoxville reporter Cora Hall wrote that the show might be the last place he'd go this week. Another local writer expects the Manning family to stay out of the spotlight.

Texas actor Glen Powell, the guest picker for the Week 2 show in Austin, told the GameDay crew he's going to the game with Peyton.

Tennessee GameDay guest picker candidates

ESPN has leaned on Tennessee alumni for recent Knoxville visits. WWE star Bianca Belair picked before the 2022 Florida game. Lady Vols great Candace Parker picked before last season's 44-41 overtime loss to Georgia.

Country singers Morgan Wallen and Kelsea Ballerini both grew up in the Knoxville area. Comedian Leanne Morgan is a Tennessee graduate who just won an Emmy for her Netflix show "Leanne." Country star Kenny Chesney picked at Tennessee in 2012.

The show runs from 9 a.m. to noon ET, with the final hour inside Neyland Stadium. Tennessee is 4-8 in its 12 past GameDay games in Knoxville.

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