With a new football season kicking off in just over a month, college football fans are getting hyped.
In an effort to stoke those flames, the South Eastern Conference has released a hype video for the kickoff games, using Luke Combs‘ cover of Tom Petty‘s “Runnin’ Down a Dream.”
The conference’s network shared their hype video on social media featuring clips from previous seasons.
“Turn this one ALL the way up,” SEC Network writes in the caption. “Our new SEC anthem is here!”
Combs expressed his excitement for the video in the comments section, sharing a fire emoji.
Luke Combs’ Cover of Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream”
Although the “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” singer did not record the cover specifically for a football anthem, it’s fitting given the fact that Combs recorded an actual SEC song in 2021. “South on Ya” was used as the season’s anthem, and the lyrics include references to various teams in the conference.
His cover of Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” was cut for a Petty tribute project called Petty Country. The album features an array of Petty’s work recorded by several country artists, including Chris Stapleton, Thomas Rhett, Dolly Parton, Lainey Wilson, Willie Nelson and George Strait.
Luke Combs’ Cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”
The “Where the Wild Things Are” hitmaker is no stranger to covers — his most successful work to date is a 2023 cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” Combs says he has always been a fan of that 1980s classic and even included it on his Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old album.
His country version was a No. 1 hit and earned Chapman a CMA Award for Song of the Year. The two performed the song together at the 2024 Grammys, too — it was a highlight of the night, as Chapman had not performed live in front of cameras in more than a decade.
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