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The Best of Peyton Manning at Tennessee

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A look at a few of the words we've written on Peyton's biggest games and best passing displays in Knoxville.

By Will Shelton
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Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

In the summer of 2009, just before Lane Kiffin coached his first game in Knoxville, we counted down The 50 Best Games of the Fulmer Era.  Peyton Manning was Tennessee's starting quarterback for just three and a half of Fulmer's 17 seasons, but we put 11 of his games on our list, including five in the Top 25:

We also wrote two seasons ago on his 10 Greatest Passing Performances at Tennessee, capped by his insane 14.9 yards per attempt day in the 1997 showdown with Tim Couch.

The stories always live far beyond the numbers.  Manning, of course, not too shabby at those either:

And so today we'll get the official ending to what we all assumed months ago, capped by an improbable Super Bowl finish, icing on the cake of a career already placing him in the conversation for the greatest of all time.  No one knows what's next for Manning except Manning.  But that future will certainly continue to include a place within Big Orange Country, not just in these memories or the locker room that carries his name, but in continuing to be involved with the football team.

Sundays will be different without him.  But our quarterback gave us a lifetime of Saturdays to remember.


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