Zach Gilford and Scott Porter are ready to go to Fiji.

Friday Night Lights stars say they could ‘wipe the floor’ with One Tree Hill and The O.C. casts on Survivor

Zach Gilford and Scott Porter are ready to go to Fiji.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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November 6, 2025 2:45 p.m. ET

Scott Porter as Jason Street and Zach Gilford as Matt Saracen on 'Friday Night Lights; Jeff Probst on 'Survivor'. Credit:

Michael Muller/NBC; Robert Voets/CBS; Paul Drinkwater/NBC

Paging Jeff Probst: the cast of *Friday Night Lights* has a great idea for *Survivor* season 51.

Zach Gilford and Scott Porter are ready to graduate from football and spend a few weeks exploring the chaos of Fiji's wilderness. While reuniting for PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive issue, the actors behind high school quarterbacks Matt Saracen and Jason Street claimed that they are more than ready to compete on the reality competition show.

"I absolutely love *Survivor*," Porter gushed, immediately earning the backing of his former costar.

"Oh, I’m still all in," Gilford said. "I'd compete in a heartbeat."

Porter then made a direct appeal to the show's host, quipping, "Jeff Probst? These two right here!"

Making their offer even more enticing, the stars then tossed out a few potential competitors, pointing out that the show could easily build its cast entirely of teen drama alums.

Chad Michael Murray, Adam Brody, and Milo Ventimiglia.

Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage; John Lamparski/Getty; Mike McGregor/Getty

"This season on *Survivor*, guys from the aughts!" Gilford suggested. "We'd wipe the floor with *One Tree Hill* and *The O.C."*

"And *Gilmore Girls*," Porter added. "Game on, baby."

Just picture it: the Tree Hill Ravens and the Dillon Panthers facing off in challenges, Milo Ventimiglia scrounging around for an idol, and friendships being wrecked in Tribal Council's more melodramatic than the shows they all rose to fame on.

There is one problem with this plan though. Between the four early aughts shows, there is quite a bit of overlap. After all, Chad Michael Murray appeared on both *One Tree Hill *and *Gilmore Girls*, while Adam Brody doubled up with *The O.C.* and *Gilmore Girls* — so which team would they compete for? Then again, once tribes dissolve and the groups are merged, it'll be every man for himself… save for a few special alliances.

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Taylor Kitsch as Tim Riggins, Gaius Charles as Brian 'Smash' Williams, Kyle Chandler as Eric Taylor, Scott Porter as Jason Street, Minka Kelly as Lyla Garrity, and Zach Gilford as Matt Saracen on 'Friday Night Lights'.

Michael Muller/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty

Elsewhere in their chat with PEOPLE, Porter and Gilford pointed out a few similarities they share with their characters that would probably come in handy should their *Survivor* dreams ever come true. Or doom them to get voted off.

**"**Jason Street and Scott Porter are both way too competitive," Porter shared. "I’ve tried to chill, but I can’t, so it just is what it is."

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He added, "I think I end up bringing that to almost every character I play, but Jason had it in spades from the jump. He just refused to let people dictate what his life was going to be."

Meanwhile, Gilford said he is a "hard worker like Matt," but does think they are different in one significant way. "I’m jaded, and he’s earnest," the actor admitted. "I’m trying to shed that a little bit."**

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Source: “EW TV”