Peyton Manning isn't Arch's only family betraying his roots to pull for the Longhorns

Just a few weeks ago, Texas quarterback Arch Manning had his uncle Peyton Manning cheering him on, even as the Horns faced the Tennessee Volunteers, the very team that Peyton played for in college.

Now, his other uncle, Eli Manning, has jumped on board to do the same when the Texas Longhorns and Arch play his alma mater, the Ole Miss Rebels.

"You root for your family," Eli said on Barstool's Pardon My Take podcast. "I have basically two years to root for my nephew in college, so for those two years... I'm gonna root for my nephew to win every single game that he plays in."

Of course, Eli isn't the only Manning who suited up for Ole Miss during their college career, with Archie Manning (Arch's grandfather) also playing quarterback for the Rebels. However, even those deep roots in Oxford, MS, can't prevent the Mannings from backing their latest success story in the SEC.

Eli Manning echoes importance of family over football

"You root for family in these scenarios. It's bigger than your college; it's bigger than where you went. It is your blood, and so I'm gonna support him 100% on his football journey for the rest of his life," Eli said.

This is a message that the entire family has put out there since Arch committed to play for the Longhorns, forsaking his ties to both Tennessee and Ole Miss. While football may have made them a household name, family is more important than anything.

Months before Arch and the Horns faced Tennessee, Peyton was asked about rooting for his former team or his nephew while at the Manning Passing Academy. He immediately sided with Arch.

"I love my University and my alma mater; I root for them unconditionally, but nothing's more important to me than my family," Peyton said. "When you have a nephew playing, I pull very hard for him every Saturday."

Archie, the patriarch of the Manning football family, has also continuously supported Arch, even though his grandson committed to play for a team in his alma mater's own conference. At this point, he hasn't point-blank said whether he'll still do so when the Rebels and the Longhorns share a field.

This is the first season this has happened in Arch's career, with Texas not playing Tennessee or Ole Miss in the regular season until 2026, so the issue had largely been avoided until now.

However, in just two and a half weeks, the Rebels will come to Austin to take on the Horns in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. For now, we can at least rest assured that Eli will be rooting for the guys wearing burnt orange that weekend.

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