Peyton Manning ‘enjoys’ hearing from Steve Spurrier about old Florida-Tennessee games

Peyton Manning has no hard feelings toward former Florida Gators head ball coach Steve Spurrier.

Even though the Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback never beat the Florida Gators, it shouldn’t be a surprise that there is a friendship and plenty of mutual respect between the two.

“I enjoyed those games and I enjoyed hearing from Coach Spurrier, of the times that I see him, about those games,” Manning said.

“Coach has great respect for the SEC, for the history of it. So he and I have enjoyed some of those conversations. All good.”

There’s no hard feelings between Peyton and the HBC.#AlwaysCFB pic.twitter.com/SWMDJFcJ29

— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) October 15, 2022

Both Spurrier and Manning have a great knowledge of the sport and its history, so you can imagine how much fun those conversations must be. Manning starred at Tennessee from 1994-1997, leading the Volunteers to multiple Top 10 finishes and an SEC championship in 1997. Spurrier was the head coach of the Gators from 1990 to 2001 and won five SEC championships.

One of the biggest games ever played at Tennessee was in 1996 when the No. 2 Vols hosted the No. 4 Gators. Florida jumped out to a 35-0 lead in the second quarter and held on to beat Tennessee 35-29 despite Manning throwing for 492 yards and four touchdowns (and four interceptions). The Gators went on to win the 1996 National Championship.

Even though Manning had left for the NFL the next time Spurrier and the Gators came through Knoxville in 1998, he was surely happy to see that Tennessee got some revenge and knocked off the Gators, 20-17, in overtime. That win vaulted Tennessee to a 13-0 season and a national championship.

Corey Long

Corey Long is a freelance writer for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow Corey on Twitter @CoreyLong.