It’s Week 3 in college football across Tennessee sports betting, and while the first couple of weeks have given us some big-name matchups, we finally get a big conference clash as the sixth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs travel to Knoxville to face the 15th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. The renewal of the SEC rivalry will also be the site for this weekend’s ESPN GameDay.
Lee Corso may have put up the mascot gear for good two weeks ago, but there are other GameDay traditions that continue. One of those is the celebrity guest picker.
At BetTennessee.com, we’ve created the following odds on who will be this Saturday’s guest picker. These odds are for entertainment purposes only, and don’t try to find these at any licensed Tennessee sports betting app.
Celebrity Guest Picker | Percentage Chance | Odds |
Peyton Manning, Former NFL Player & Former Vol | 19.1% | +425 |
Kelsea Ballerini, Musician & Knoxville Native | 14.3% | +600 |
Kenny Chesney, Musician & Knoxville Native | 14.3% | +600 |
Candace Parker, Former WNBA Player & Former Vol | 9.1% | +1000 |
Eric Berry, Former NFL Player & Former Vol | 7.4% | +1250 |
Josh Dobbs, NFL Player & Former Vol | 7.4% | +1250 |
Dolly Parton, Musician & Tennessee Native | 4.8% | +2000 |
The Field | 23.5% | +325 |
The last time Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and the crew were in Knoxville was Oct. 15, 2022. That’s when the then-No. 6 Vols stunned then-No. 3 Alabama. Tennessee led by as much as 28-10 in the first half before the Crimson Tide would claw their way back to go up 49-42 midway through the fourth quarter. Hendon Hooker and the Vols would get the last laugh, though, as they scored 10 points in the final 3:26, with Chase McGrath’s 40-yard field goal at the gun giving Tennessee a 52-49 victory.
Peyton Manning was the guest picker for that game, and the Tennessee legend has several connections with ESPN – most notably the Manningcast Monday Night Football broadcast he co-hosts with brother Eli Manning.
Kenny Chesney hasn’t been the celebrity GameDay guest at a Tennessee game, but he did serve that role back in 2014 when the crew visited South Carolina. Chesney will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame later this year, and he’s got a memoir also coming out this fall that tells his story from growing up in the Smokies to being one of music’s most bankable concert stars.
ESPN has plenty of other options when it comes to celebrities and former athletes with school and/or regional ties. I, for one, would love to see Josh Dobbs be on the set. However, since the Passtronaut and former Tennessee quarterback is currently the backup quarterback for the New England Patriots, it seems unlikely he’ll be on hand.
With the WNBA Playoffs starting Sunday, Tennessee legend Candace Parker could be a fitting guest picker, and of course, who wouldn’t want to see an icon like Dolly Parton rub elbows with Pat McAfee?
College GameDay will air live beginning at 9 a.m. ET from Knoxville and run for three hours. The Bulldogs-Volunteers are set to kickoff at 3:30 with the game airing on ABC.
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Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
