Peyton Manning takes shot at Georgia in recollection of meeting Brock Bowers for the first time

SEC football never dies, no longer how far removed you are from a school. Just asked Peyton Manning, who might be the biggest Tennessee fan out there. To this day, Manning goes to bat for his school and pokes fun at former rivals given the chance.

Now-Las Vegas Raiders and former Georgia Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers found that out when meeting Manning for the first time. Bowers just wrapped up a divisional game against the Denver Broncos, where the conversation began. Manning called Bowers’ girlfriend, who also went to Tennessee, smart.

“I met Bowers at a Broncos game last year, Eli,” Manning said on Monday’s ManningCast. “He walked up to me, right by me, I said, ‘Bowers, you went to Georgia. You couldn’t be that smart. But your girlfriend went to Tennessee, so you’ve gotta be pretty smart.’ He didn’t know what was happening. I had never met him before. He didn’t know whether to stop and talk to me or go back to the line. I teach a class at Tennessee and his girlfriend was in my class. Very smart, obviously. Good for him for figuring it out.”

Eli then asked what “obviously” made her a smart person. His brother responded by saying, “She’s smart because she goes to Tennessee. That’s why she’s smart. It’s a tough class. It’s an easy A, but it’s a tough class.”

Brock Bowers girlfriend was in Peyton Manning's class at Tennessee 🤩

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While the two reportedly did not start dating until 2021, both of them are from California. Watching Georgia and Tennessee play every single year might be difficult for her, given the situation. But Bowers has previously spoken on the matter, saying she wore a UGA jersey with the No. 19.

“She ended up going to Tennessee actually from California, which is kind of funny,” Bowers said. “Yeah. So, it was kind of a random rivalry,” Bowers said. “She had the 19 jersey on, so she was pulling for me. But she was getting kind of yelled at by her friends.”

Georgia found a good amount of success against Tennessee when Bowers was at school, pulling off three wins. The tight end did not put up the flashiest numbers, though, totaling 12 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown. Usually, that’s a stat line we would see over the course of one game from Bowers.

Manning probably wishes the girlfriend remained true to Rocky Top during the games. But if nothing else, earning an A in the class makes up for it all.