The vitriol towards Lane Kiffin from Tennessee football fans when he left for the USC Trojans in 2010 will never be forgotten. However, the vitriol towards Peyton Manning when he chose the Vols over the Ole Miss Rebels in 1994 will also never be forgotten.
Well, now at Ole Miss, Kiffin has a brilliant idea to tie all of that together, and it also involves Eli Manning. On Wednesday, Kiffin suggested that the Manning brothers call the Tennessee-Ole Miss game set for Saturday, Oct. 16 in Knoxville, Tenn. at Neyland Stadium.
On Monday, the Manning brothers made their broadcasting debut, as they were alternative announcers for the Monday Night Football game on ESPN2 between the Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders. That’s a gig they’ll have all year. Kiffin suggested they take it to Tennessee football vs. Ole Miss on Twitter, retweeting a Reddit suggestion.
Come on @ESPNCFB give the people what they want @Vol_Football @OleMissFB #WeWantEli #WeWantPeyton https://t.co/qiGnCnzYtU
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) September 15, 2021
There’s no way this wouldn’t be ratings gold for both programs. The Vols need all the buzz they can get right now as they try to return to prominence, and a reminder of Peyton Manning going there in the 1990s could be some help.
You’ve got everything you could want in a game if you do this. There’s the Manning family, the old UT-Ole Miss rivalry and Kiffin facing the Vols as the head coach of another program. The only unfortunate thing about that game is it’s not during a Duke Blue Devils bye week, as David Cutcliffe, who coached both Mannings, would be great to join them in the studio.
With Kiffin putting his stamp of approval on the Mannings calling that game, you have to think that ESPN is in the works to make that happen. CBS would still have first dibs on the SEC game that week, but it seems like the Florida Gators vs. the LSU Tigers, the Auburn Tigers vs. the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Kentucky Wildcats and Georgia Bulldogs could all get that nod.
Contracts with announcers also have to come into play, but it seems impossible that ESPN wouldn’t be able to work something out. This is something everybody would want. Tennessee football and Ole Miss could then become the most intriguing game of the year. Make it happen.