Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns will face off against the Tennessee Vols in Neyland Stadium in 2026.

It’ll be the first time that Texas and Tennessee have met in an SEC conference game.

Earlier this offseason, Vols legend Peyton Manning, who is Arch’s uncle, was asked if he’ll be pulling for his alma mater or his nephew.

Peyton made it clear that he’ll be pulling for Arch to play well.

“One of the kids was asking me earlier who I was going to go for,” said Peyton. “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.

“But obviously, it’s going to be a huge SEC game. My dad dealt with it when I was in college — when Tennessee played Ole Miss. Look, I love my university, my alma mater, and I pull for them unconditionally. But nothing’s more important to me than my family. 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. But, like I said, everybody knows pretty strongly where my loyalties lie on all other Saturdays — with the University of Tennessee.”

Arch Manning gets asked about playing Tennessee

On Thursday, Arch was asked by WNML’s Vince Ferrara at SEC Media Days about playing Tennessee this fall and about his experiences in Neyland Stadium.

Arch revealed that he’s never actually been to Neyland before. He also noted that he spent some time this offseason with Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre.

“Yeah, I’ve never been (to Neyland),” said Arch. “So I’m excited to go for the first time. We’re all pumped up. It’s the first SEC game. That’s a great program. I spent some time with George MacIntyre this offseason — he’s a really good dude. So we’re all excited.”

Arch, who is from Louisiana, grew up going to Ole Miss and LSU games, and he wasn’t recruited by Tennessee, so while it’s kind of surprising that he’s never been to Neyland Stadium before, it makes sense why he hasn’t.

Tennessee and Texas will kick off at noon on September 26.