![]() ![]() McMahan, a UT graduate, is the son of the late Ron McMahan, a longtime editor of the Knoxville Journal newspaper. Wolverines running back Blake Corum won't be in New York, either.īut in a season in which both schools made a run at the College Football Playoff and flirted with the Heisman, the wild year of 1997 and its aftermath was never far from the surface.ĮACH YEAR WHEN the Heisman ceremony rolls around, Mike McMahan's blood pressure rises. Since 1997" - when quarterback Hendon Hooker didn't make the cut. The old wound was reopened for Volunteers fans - including Teague, who tweeted "Heisman Trophy is a joke. ET, ESPN) and neither Tennessee nor Michigan has a finalist to the dismay of both fan bases. This year's Heisman Trophy ceremony is Saturday (8 p.m. Will that stop the rampant speculation? Also no. Is there any evidence to support either side's claims? No. "It just seemed like he was the most obvious person that changed their vote." "Because he was so vocal about Peyton Manning not winning the Heisman, you didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out," said Chris Howard, the leading rusher on Michigan's 1997 team. I can't remember exactly where I did vote them, but I voted like I thought it should be, right near the top because they were one of the top teams that year."īut even some Michigan players have wondered. "Yes, I've heard that once or twice," Fulmer said sarcastically. 1, has repeatedly called "ridiculous" over the years. It's a claim the coach, who said at the time he was voting Nebraska No. The suspicions of many Michigan fans turned to Fulmer. One extra first-place vote would have meant at least a tie for No. Based on the final tally of points, the Wolverines either fell to third on two ballots or all the way to fourth on one. Michigan received 30 firsts but not 32 seconds. The way the 62-person balloting broke down, the Cornhuskers earned 32 first-place votes (up from 8½ in the pre-bowl poll) and 30 seconds. 1 in the coaches poll and claimed a split championship. But Nebraska leapfrogged the Wolverines to finish No. In the last year of a pre-BCS world, when polls determined the national title, Michigan remained No. 2 Nebraska - also unbeaten - throttled No. 8 Washington State 20-16 in the Rose Bowl to finish 12-0. 1 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. "The bottom line is the best player in college football didn't win it that year, and nobody in Tennessee has forgotten or ever will forget."įive hundred miles north, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a different conspiracy surrounding Tennessee and 1997 lingers.Īfter Woodson won the Heisman, the Wolverines entered the postseason unbeaten and No. ![]() ABC and ESPN weren't carrying the SEC back then. But as you look back, there were all kinds of dynamics that went into it. "I haven't paid attention to or really cared about it since that night in New York City," then-Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer told ESPN this fall. "How does that happen unless you're trying to make sure that one guy wins it and another guy doesn't?" said former Tennessee offensive tackle Trey Teague, who roomed with Manning in college and played nine seasons in the NFL. (Woodson was left off 88 ballots.) Woodson won the vote by 272 points and won every region but the South. 1 draft pick and NFL Hall of Famer first, second or third. To make their case, Tennessee partisans point out that Manning was completely left off 110 ballots, meaning 110 voters didn't place the future No. They believe the national media engineered a campaign to promote Woodson at the expense of Manning. The Vols faithful - from message-board posters to Hall of Fame coaches - remain angry and bewildered that favorite son Peyton Manning lost out on the 1997 Heisman to Michigan's Charles Woodson, the first and only primarily defensive player to win the award.īut beyond that, they are convinced of foul play. They refer to it, if they refer to it at all, as the "Heistman." In these parts, they don't refer to the award for the top player in college football as the Heisman Trophy. On the back wall of Gus' Good Times Deli, an iconic eatery on the University of Tennessee campus, hangs an oversized banner that has been in place for at least two decades and serves as a stark reminder to the rest of the college football world.Īnd while the distinct Tennessee orange shade of the banner might have faded slightly over time, the anger behind the sentiment has not. ![]() You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserġ997 college football conspiracies: Peyton Manning's Heisman miss, Michigan's split titleĬollege Football, Tennessee Volunteers, Michigan Wolverines, Nebraska Cornhuskers ![]()
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