Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning leaves "The Swamp" with a victory Saturday, October 4, 2003 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville. Old Miss upset the Gators 20 - 17. A. Messerschmidt/WireImage Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Eli Manning had one final gift to give to Chad Powers before he fully ceded the character's fate to star Glen Powell and showrunner Michael Waldron. In episode three of Hulu's Chad Powers, Powell's Powers enters a game in relief to injured South Georgia Catfish starter Gerry Dougan (Colton Ryan) and carries the team to a last-minute, come-from-behind victory over the University of Mississippi Rebels, colloquially known as Ole Miss. The South Georgia sideline erupts; those on the Ole Miss side had a different reaction. Related Stories Person of Interest For 'Chad Powers' Star Perry Mattfeld, Football Is a "Full-Time Job" TV Glen Powell Plans to Go Incognito as Chad Powers in the Real World "(Who) the fuck is that guy?" a surprised, unhappy Eli Manning asks. Manning, though clearly looking like Eli Manning at his alma mater, is actually not playing Eli Manning - he's acting as an Ole Miss coach, The Hollywood Reporter is told. "Omaha let us know, like, 'Yeah, [Eli] is gonna come visit set, maybe do some press stuff with Glen,' and we were always saying, 'We've got to do a cameo with him,'" Waldron said. "We knew they were going to be playing Ole Miss - that felt like the right way." In the script, the coach character did not swear. "Obviously, he has one line. I hope it plays as a somewhat shocking line, if you know Eli," he continued. "He was just so game. That wasn't what the line was in the script, and we were like, 'What if you said 'fuck'?" The "fuck" he did - literally. Manning is not the only Easter egg in the scene. Standing next to him with a coach's headset on is Powell's own father, Glen Powell Sr. Glen Powell in Chad Powers Daniel Delgado/Disney Chad Powers is an adaptation of a viral 2022 prank from Eli Manning's ESPN+ series, Eli's Places, a spinoff of big brother's Peyton's Places. In the sketch, the 41-year-old retired New York Giants great goes undercover at Penn State's annual walk-on tryouts via a wig and facial prostheses/makeup as Chad Powers, a home-schooled, mom-coached quarterback. He looks funny (and way old) and sounds funny, but Chad's arm is no joke. It the end, Manning and the Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin - the only two in on the gag - reveal Powers' secret identity. Somehow that turned into this. Hulu's Chad Powers follows disgraced Oregon Ducks quarterback Russ Holliday nearly a decade after he blew the national championship game - and the next eight years of his life. To get back into football, Holliday goes undercover as Chad Powers at the fictitious South Georgia University, which is desperate for a new QB. It's a good thing his dad works in Hollywood hair and makeup. Powers' next victim is Peyton Manning's old school, the University of Tennessee. This time, Powers, now the consensus QB1, lights up the opposition for 343 yards passing, 75 yards rushing, and four TDs. To recap: Powers just barely eked out a win against Eli's school - but he absolutely lit up Peyton's. "That was my only suggestion to the plot of the show," Eli Manning joked in a Zoom with THR. It didn't go unnoticed. "Certain times you just gotta swallow your pride and say, 'This is the best thing for the show,'" Peyton Manning told THR in a separate call. "[Chad Powers] is Eli's baby, too. Eli helped create this and went for it, so I felt like he had a little more editorial say than I did, probably, in this one." Brothers are gonna be brothers. Read THR's Aug. 20 Chad Powers cover story featuring Powell, the Mannings, Waldron and more here. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up SNL Sherri Shepherd Calls on 'SNL' to Quickly Cast Another Black Woman After Ego Nwodim's Departure: "It Is an Emergency" united kingdom From 'Sex Education' to Shakespeare: Alistair Petrie Finds the Heart in Every Villain Live Feed Legendary 'SNL' Writer Jim Downey Gets His Long-Overdue Appreciation in a New Peacock Special Live Feed 'Ballard' Renewed for Season 2 as Prime Video Keeps 'Bosch'-Verse Rolling noads 'Monday Night Football' Livestream: When and Where to Watch Kansas City Chiefs vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Online for Free Live Feed Paramount+ Lands Nicole Kidman-Elle Fanning Drama 'Discretion' SNL Sherri Shepherd Calls on 'SNL' to Quickly Cast Another Black Woman After Ego Nwodim's Departure: "It Is an Emergency" united kingdom From 'Sex Education' to Shakespeare: Alistair Petrie Finds the Heart in Every Villain Live Feed Legendary 'SNL' Writer Jim Downey Gets His Long-Overdue Appreciation in a New Peacock Special Live Feed 'Ballard' Renewed for Season 2 as Prime Vi