Peyton Manning and Pat McAfee lead band in ‘Rocky Top’ during ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’

Well, it’s been a minute since we’ve seen Peyton Manning lead Tennessee’s Pride of Southland Band.

Yet, there he was Saturday – during the ESPN “College GameDay” broadcast – leading his alma mater’s band in a rendition of “Rocky Top” ahead of No. 6 Tennessee’s game with No. 3 Alabama later in the day.

With the help from ESPN analyst – and former Indianapolis Colts teammate – Pat McAfee, Manning climbed a ladder much like he did years ago.

“My sophomore year, we had lost to Alabama nine years in a row,” Manning explained Saturday on “GameDay.” We finally beat them. The band director said, ‘hey, you wanna come direct ‘Rocky Top?’ I said, ‘Absolutely, I’d love to do that.’ I went up there and had them right in rhythm. That was 1995. It’s been a long time since I have done that.”

The game kicks at 2:30 p.m. and will be live streamed on Paramount+ (free trial), fuboTV (free trial) and DirecTV Stream (free trial).

Manning was 3-1 as the Vols quarterback against Alabama and became the first quarterback in Tennessee history to win three straight against the Crimson Tide.

In his four-game stint, Manning was 65 of 109 for 919 yards and seven scores.

Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.