A Manning could be returning to Neyland Stadium.
The Southeastern Conference revealed its entire 2026 football schedule Thursday night, and Tennessee will be opening league play by welcoming Texas to Knoxville on Sept. 26. The Volunteers and Longhorns have met on three previous occasions, with all three occurring at the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Texas is currently quarterbacked by redshirt sophomore Arch Manning, who is eligible for the 2026 NFL draft. Yet if Manning does the expected and returns for a fourth season in Austin and his second as the starter, he would get to perform in the same venue as famed uncle Peyton Manning did for the Vols during the 1994-97 seasons.
Peyton’s younger brother, Eli, never played in Knoxville during his five-year career (1999-2003) at Ole Miss.
The 2026 SEC season will be the first in which a nine-game league schedule is implemented. The league has employed eight conference contests since 1992, when Arkansas and South Carolina joined the SEC and formed a 12-member collection that split into two six-team divisions, with the exception being the COVID-altered season of 2020 in which each team played 10 league foes and did not face any nonconference opponents.