Peyton Manning Says He Had Fun Hosting 'Capital One College Bowl' with Cooper: 'Great Brother Time'

When you're as busy as brothers Peyton and Cooper Manning, you have to get creative when it comes to finding quality family time, which is why the brothers were thrilled to host the second season of NBC's Capital One College Bowl.

"It's been fun to do it with Cooper for our second year," Peyton tells PEOPLE.

"It was six days that we were together, that doesn't happen very much anymore," says the 46-year-old Hall of Famer, who adds that he and Cooper "went to dinner every night in Atlanta" and "got up and worked out together every morning."

"It was great brother time," he adds.

And when it comes to getting along with the show's young contestants, Cooper is a natural.

"Cooper is fun to work with, always upbeat and doesn't take himself too seriously. He likes to laugh and I think the students really like that," says Peyton, who admires his older brother's ability to make them feel comfortable.

"There's a live audience here, there's cameras everywhere, so it's not a normal environment for a lot of these students, so I'm sure there's some nerves," he adds. "I really feel like Cooper and his personality helps the students relax, which I think is important."

Peyton went on to joke that most of their time on set was spent just "trying to do our part and stay of the way."

The two-time Super Bowl champion says the "last thing" he wants to do on set is "be a distraction" for the contestants — or "pronounce a word incorrectly" while reading the trivia questions.

"During the show, the students are the stars and they're playing for scholarship money...I want to do my part, but also like you said, stay out of the way and let these kids shine," he says.

"For me, all I'm trying to do is pronounce the question correctly," he adds. "To act like I know what the question actually means or what the answer is, no chance. And I can see it in my monitor!"

But even when mistakes happen, Peyton says the contestants still made it work. "Some of these students are getting the question correct, even after I pronounce a word incorrectly. That tells you how smart they are," he says. "They can figure out my mistakes and still get it correct."

In the competition's biggest season yet, more schools than ever before will compete in a five-round tournament, putting their knowledge to the test for a chance to win the coveted Capital One College Bowl trophy and a life-changing amount of scholarship money for their team.

This season, 16 teams from various colleges and universities across the country as they compete in the ultimate battle of the brains.

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NBC promises bigger rivalries, exciting celebrity guest shout-outs, and thrilling competition. This season will also feature marching bands, mascots, and a live audience to bring the energy this season.

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Capital One College Bowl, executive produced by brother Peyton, Eli, and Cooper Manning, is an update of NBC's former Emmy-winning series College Bowl, which aired on the network for decades.

Season two premieres on September 9 at 8 p.m. on NBC.