This oughta be GOOD.
Tonight, the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers are playing on Monday Night Football, and while the main broadcast is always on ESPN, the Manning brothers in Peyton and Eli Manning started their super popular, alternative ManningCast in 2021 on ESPN2, which has been a big hit among football fans.
And tonight, you’ll see one of country music’s biggest stars on ESPN2, as Luke Combs is set to make his first appearance on the program.
Of course, Luke is a huge Panthers fan, and he’s appeared on multiple different sports shows before, notably the The Pat McAfee Show a couple of times, so I’m sure he’s going to have a lot to say about his team tonight. He’s been pretty brutally honest about the state of the team before, so I expect nothing less from him tonight.
Luke joins a list of other very high-profile guests that have appeared on the ManningCast in the past, including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Taylor Swift’s fiance Travis Kelce, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Lil Wayne.
This game is going to be interesting in the fact that the 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey was drafted by the Panthers back in 2017, and was traded to the 49ers in 2022, so there’s always a little drama with that.
In addition, the 49ers have had plenty of injuries this season, sitting at 7-4 going into tonight and at third place in the NFC West as a result. On the other hand, the Panthers have managed to put together a 6-4 record thus far, after getting off to a ROUGH start earlier this year. They’re currently tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South, though the teams have yet to play each other this season so those two games will mean a lot with both happening pretty late in the season.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is coming off a record-setting game against the Atlanta Falcons last weekend, as he completed a season-high 68.9% of his 45 pass attempts with a 123.2 passer rating, three touchdowns and 448 passing yards, which is the Panthers’ single-game franchise record, as Young surpassed Cam Newton for that record.
The Panthers have been pretty inconsistent in terms of their play this season, but (and I say this with extreme caution), overall, they seem to be trending upwards as we get into late-season play, so we’ll see how they do tonight… I’m cautiously optimistic, but you never really know with them…
I think Luke is a great get for the ManningCast, he knows ball and I’m sure will have a lot to add to the conversation, and he’s coming off a big week at the CMA Awards, where he was up for three awards in Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year for “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma.” He went home empty-handed, but he also performed “Back in the Saddle” to open the show.
The ManningCast airs at 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+.
“Back in the Saddle”
Luke’s My Kinda Saturday Night world tour will kick off in March of 2026, and you can check out the full list of dates below.
My Kinda Saturday Night Tour Dates
March 21 Allegiant Stadium – Las Vegas, NV
April 4 Scott Stadium – Charlottesville, VA
April 11 Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, IA
April 18 Notre Dame Stadium – South Bend, IN
April 25 Ohio Stadium – Columbus, OH
May 2 Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN
May 9 Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium – Norman, OK
May 15 Lambeau Field – Green Bay, WI
May 16 Lambeau Field – Green Bay, WI
May 30 Parc Jean-Drapeau – Montreal, QC
June 5 Rogers Stadium – Toronto, ON
June 6 Rogers Stadium – Toronto, ON
July 4 Ullevi – Gothenburg, Sweden
July 7 Accor Arena – Paris, France
July 11 Johan Cruijff ArenA – Amsterdam, Netherlands
July 18 Slane Castle – Slane, Ireland
July 19 Slane Castle – Slane, Ireland
July 25 Scottish Gas Murrayfield – Edinburgh, UK
July 31 Wembley Stadium – London, UK
August 1 Wembley Stadium – London, UK