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Chris Low and Andrea Adleson
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- On the backmost partition of Gus' Good Times Deli, an iconic eatery connected the University of Tennessee campus, hangs an oversized banner that has been successful spot for astatine slightest 2 decades and serves arsenic a stark reminder to the remainder of the assemblage shot world.
And portion the chiseled Tennessee orangish shadiness of the banner mightiness person faded somewhat implicit time, the choler down the sentiment has not.
Don't Blame Us. We Voted For Manning.
In these parts, they don't notation to the grant for the apical subordinate successful assemblage shot arsenic the Heisman Trophy. They notation to it, if they notation to it astatine all, arsenic the "Heistman."
The Vols faithful -- from message-board posters to Hall of Fame coaches -- stay aggravated and bewildered that favourite lad Peyton Manning mislaid retired connected the 1997 Heisman to Michigan's Charles Woodson, the archetypal and lone chiefly antiaircraft subordinate to triumph the award.
But beyond that, they are convinced of foul play. They judge the nationalist media engineered a run to beforehand Woodson astatine the disbursal of Manning.
To marque their case, Tennessee partisans constituent retired that Manning was wholly near disconnected 110 ballots, meaning 110 voters didn't spot the aboriginal No. 1 draught prime and NFL Hall of Famer first, 2nd oregon third. (Woodson was near disconnected 88 ballots.) Woodson won the ballot by 272 points and won each portion but the South.
"How does that hap unless you're trying to marque definite that 1 feline wins it and different feline doesn't?" said erstwhile Tennessee violative tackle Trey Teague, who roomed with Manning successful assemblage and played 9 seasons successful the NFL.
"I haven't paid attraction to [the Heisman] oregon truly cared astir it since that nighttime successful New York City," then-Tennessee manager Phillip Fulmer told ESPN this fall. "It's thing against [Woodson], either. He was a large player. But arsenic you look back, determination were each kinds of dynamics that went into it. ABC and ESPN weren't carrying the SEC backmost then. They were carrying the Big Ten.
"The bottommost enactment is the champion subordinate successful assemblage shot didn't triumph it that year, and cipher successful Tennessee has forgotten oregon ever volition forget."
Five 100 miles north, successful Ann Arbor, Michigan, a antithetic conspiracy surrounding Tennessee and 1997 lingers.
After Woodson won the Heisman, the Wolverines entered the postseason unbeaten and No. 1 successful some the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. Michigan bushed No. 8 Washington State 20-16 successful the Rose Bowl to decorativeness 12-0. The adjacent day, No. 2 Nebraska -- besides unbeaten -- throttled No. 3 Tennessee 42-17.
In the past twelvemonth of a pre-BCS world, erstwhile polls determined the nationalist title, Michigan remained No. 1 successful the AP poll. But Nebraska leapfrogged the Wolverines to decorativeness No. 1 successful the coaches canvass and claimed a divided championship.
The mode the 62-person balloting broke down, the Cornhuskers earned 32 first-place votes (up from 8½ successful the pre-bowl poll) and 30 seconds. Michigan received 30 firsts but not 32 seconds. Based connected the last tally of points, the Wolverines either fell to 3rd connected 2 ballots oregon each the mode to 4th connected one. One other first-place ballot would person meant astatine slightest a necktie for No. 1 successful the coaches poll.
The suspicions of galore Michigan fans turned to Fulmer. It's a assertion the coach, who said astatine the clip helium was voting Nebraska No. 1, has repeatedly called "ridiculous" implicit the years.
"Yes, I've heard that erstwhile oregon twice," Fulmer said sarcastically. "But that's not true, nary of it is. I can't retrieve precisely wherever I did ballot them, but I voted similar I thought it should be, close adjacent the apical due to the fact that they were 1 of the apical teams that year."
But adjacent immoderate Michigan players person wondered.
"Because helium was truthful vocal astir Peyton Manning not winning the Heisman, you didn't person to beryllium a rocket idiosyncratic to fig it out," said Chris Howard, the starring rusher connected Michigan's 1997 team. "It conscionable seemed similar helium was the astir evident idiosyncratic that changed their vote."
Is determination immoderate grounds to enactment either side's claims? No.
Will that halt the rampant speculation? Also no.
This year's Heisman Trophy ceremonial is Saturday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) and neither Tennessee nor Michigan has a finalist to the dismay of some instrumentality bases. The aged coiled was reopened for Volunteers fans -- including Teague, who tweeted "Heisman Trophy is simply a joke. Since 1997" erstwhile backmost Hendon Hooker didn't marque the cut. Wolverines moving backmost Blake Corum won't beryllium successful New York, either.
But successful a play successful which some schools made a tally astatine the College Football Playoff and flirted with the Heisman, the chaotic twelvemonth of 1997 and its aftermath was ne'er acold from the surface.
EACH YEAR WHEN the Heisman ceremonial rolls around, Mike McMahan's humor unit rises. McMahan, a UT graduate, is the lad of the precocious Ron McMahan, a longtime exertion of the Knoxville Journal newspaper. The elder McMahan was besides a teammate of Johnny Majors, who was a Heisman runner-up to Notre Dame's Paul Hornung successful 1956. Majors was a prima single-wing tailback for the Vols and aboriginal became their coach.
"I was told each those stories arsenic a kid, that Notre Dame finished 2-8 that twelvemonth and Majors inactive didn't triumph it," McMahan recounted. "So the Peyton 1 deed hard."
Manning was awesome successful 1997, passing for 3,819 yards (fourth nationally) with 36 touchdowns (third) to conscionable 11 interceptions for the one-loss Vols. He threw 4 touchdown passes, including a 73-yarder to Marcus Nash successful the 4th quarter, during a comeback triumph implicit Auburn successful the SEC title game. He acceptable a schoolhouse grounds with 523 yards and tied a schoolhouse people with 5 touchdown passes successful a triumph implicit Kentucky and Tim Couch, the nation's second-leading passer that season. He added 304 yards and 3 scores successful the Vols' 3rd consecutive triumph implicit Alabama.
James Kirkland roomed with Manning during their elder twelvemonth astatine Tennessee. Kirkland, the pupil assemblage president that year, felt it was evident ESPN was, successful his words, propping up Woodson to marque the contention absorbing and make immoderate play due to the fact that Manning seemed similar specified a shoo-in astatine the commencement of the season. Manning returned for his elder play contempt being the apt No. 1 wide prime successful the 1997 NFL draft.
"It conscionable started to snowball," Kirkland said. "I retrieve we'd travel backmost to the fraternity house, and it would beryllium the aforesaid 2 oregon 3 highlights of Charles Woodson implicit and implicit again connected ESPN. They made him look similar Superman.
"I don't deliberation Tennessee fans are huffy astatine Charles Woodson. Look astatine what an accomplished subordinate helium was. We're huffy due to the fact that of what Peyton had meant to the full Tennessee family, the mode helium went retired determination arsenic a elder and did everything helium needed to bash connected the tract to triumph it -- and they recovered a mode to instrumentality it from him."
THE WOLVERINES ENTERED 1997 coming disconnected 4 consecutive four-loss seasons. They had not won a nationalist rubric since 1948 and expectations were comparatively low, starting the play ranked No. 14 successful the AP poll.
"Quite honestly, we had the feeling that we were letting everybody down," said Mark Campbell, a starting choky extremity successful '97. But Michigan started hot, stifling No. 8 Colorado 27-3 successful the play opener, and ne'er looked back.
Woodson showed a knack for making his biggest plays -- whether connected offense, defence oregon peculiar teams -- successful the biggest games.
And reasonably oregon not, that created a opposition to Manning's struggles against Florida. Tennessee failed to bushed the rival Gators successful his 3 years arsenic starting quarterback, including successful 1997, erstwhile the Vols' 33-20 decision successful Gainesville was their lone regular-season nonaccomplishment that year.
There was Woodson's soaring one-handed interception against No. 15 Michigan State (a 23-7 win) and a 37-yard catch-and-run touchdown against No. 3 Penn State (a 34-8 rout).
"That catapulted america adjacent much into the spotlight and Charles adjacent much arsenic well," Howard said.
Then came the crippled against No. 4 Ohio State 2 weeks later. Woodson delivered successful the crippled of the twelvemonth with a 78-yard punt instrumentality people and an interception successful a 20-14 triumph.
The pursuing Monday, Michigan recovered itself with a decisive pb arsenic the No. 1 squad successful the federation successful some the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. Woodson had finished the twelvemonth with 7 interceptions and 43 tackles for the nation's No. 1 scoring defence (9.5 points per game), portion adding 3 violative scores.
He was connected to New York for the Heisman ceremony.
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Michigan's Charles Woodson is named the victor of the 1997 Heisman Trophy, the archetypal superior antiaircraft subordinate to ever triumph the award.
STILL, WOODSON WAS an underdog.
Defensive backmost Marcus Ray accompanied his roommate to the ceremony. He remembers Woodson asking him, portion they were getting ready: "Do you deliberation I tin win?"
"Probably not," Ray replied. "I anticipation you do. But cipher has ever won connected defense."
So ideate the corporate maize-and-blue euphoria erstwhile Peter Junge, president of the Downtown Athletic Club, said, "And the winner, from Michigan, Charles Woodson."
"I screamed, and immoderate unusual vigor went done my body," Ray said. "I deliberation you tin perceive maine connected the broadcast."
"We mislaid our s---," Howard said. "We were screaming, moving retired into the streets, popping champagne bottles."
Things were decidedly much subdued connected the different side.
"I was determination astatine the [Heisman] event, and arsenic I look back, erstwhile they announced Charles Woodson, and this isn't to diminish Charles, but determination were much media to spell spot the absorption of Peyton than to spot the absorption of Charles," said David Cutcliffe, who was Tennessee's violative coordinator astatine the clip and remains 1 of Manning's closest confidants. "I was sick to my tummy astir it and inactive get sick astir it."
Greg Johnson, a erstwhile U.S. Marine who did 7 deployments successful the Middle East, was successful Argentina erstwhile Woodson was announced arsenic the winner. Johnson played shot astatine Tennessee and was a twelvemonth up of Manning. They were roommates during Manning's sophomore and inferior seasons. Johnson, who didn't person a TV, sought retired an net café successful Argentina to perceive the "grim" news.
"I conscionable felt wronged, that a incorrect had been committed," Johnson said. "I inactive accidental we person a recount."
Manning seldom talks astir the Heisman flap and said a fewer years agone helium has chosen "not to spell down that road."
"My disappointment was for the University of Tennessee," Manning told ESPN successful 2017. "That's who I wounded for, each of the large fans and each of the large radical there. Tennessee has ne'er had a Heisman winner, but 4 second-place finishers -- Hank Lauricella, Johnny Majors, Heath Shuler and myself. I truly wanted to triumph it for my school, truthful I was disappointed for that."
Even erstwhile Florida manager Steve Spurrier, who reveled successful going 3-0 against the Vols with Manning arsenic the starter, suggests Manning mightiness person been held to a antithetic standard.
"Everybody knows Peyton should person won the Heisman that year. I don't blasted those Tennessee fans for being mad. I voted for him," said Spurrier, who won the Heisman successful 1966. "Yep, we bushed 'em a bunch, but it wasn't conscionable Peyton retired determination playing by himself. I deliberation immoderate of those Midwest boys successful the media conscionable wanted a antiaircraft player, oregon idiosyncratic else, to triumph it that year. You'd person to inquire them."
The aftermath successful Knoxville deed swiftly. A vigor presumption sold T-shirts to payment a section foundation that featured a representation of the Heisman Trophy connected the beforehand and said "Keep your anserine trophy" connected the back. For respective days successful a row, fans lined up astir the gathering to get them, and the presumption sold each garment it had.
And a twelvemonth later, arsenic the Vols were making a tally to a nationalist championship, halfway Spencer Riley wore a CBS chapeau to Fiesta Bowl media days. Asked if helium was boycotting ESPN, helium snapped, "Damn right. Look astatine what they did to Peyton and look astatine the mode they speech astir us."
But backmost successful New York astatine the clip of the Heisman announcement, Ray said that connected the Vols side, "It felt similar a funeral. So we knew aft the Heisman, Tennessee wasn't going to bash america immoderate favors with their shot team's crippled oregon with their manager successful that Orange Bowl."
MICHIGAN AND NEBRASKA were the lone unbeatens heading into vessel season. Since the Wolverines won the Big Ten, they were contractually obligated to play the Pac-12 champ successful the Rose Bowl. The Cornhuskers, meanwhile, had an Orange Bowl day with Manning and Tennessee.
Legendary Nebraska manager Tom Osborne, present 85, told ESPN past period helium called the Big Ten to inquire whether determination was immoderate mode Michigan and Nebraska could play each different instead.
"The reply came backmost they had the Rose Bowl contract, and that couldn't beryllium changed, and truthful I understood that, but it's truly a shame erstwhile you had 2 undefeated teams astatine the extremity that you couldn't settee it connected the field," Osborne said.
Then-Michigan manager Lloyd Carr said that was the archetypal helium had heard of that telephone call.
"I deliberation Coach Osborne's fortunate due to the fact that if we had played, I deliberation we would person bushed Nebraska and past he'd beryllium atrocious helium didn't astatine slightest get a half," Carr said with a laughter earlier this month.
Though Michigan had a commanding pb implicit Nebraska successful some the AP and coaches polls headed into their respective vessel games, the Cornhuskers believed determination was a accidental astatine a divided title if they played good against the Vols. Osborne was retiring aft the season, and the Huskers players made it their ngo to decorativeness connected top.
"I retrieve telling the players the doorway wasn't wide open, but astatine slightest we had a crack," Osborne said. "I deliberation they seized connected that idea."
Michigan played first, beating Washington State connected Jan. 1. In the waning seconds, Washington State backmost Ryan Leaf -- the nation's starring passer successful 1997 -- spiked the shot with what appeared to beryllium 2 seconds connected the clock, but the referee ruled nary clip remained and Michigan held connected to triumph 21-16.
In the jubilant postgame locker room, Carr told his team:
"You person near a fantastic bequest for each squad that ever follows you. You ... conscionable won the nationalist championship."
"We celebrated similar we had won the nationalist championship," Michigan violative tackle Jon Jansen said.
But the polls would not travel retired until aft Nebraska and Tennessee played successful Miami the pursuing night. Michigan players callback not paying overmuch attraction to what Nebraska did. In their minds, it hardly mattered -- they were No. 1 and would enactment that way.
On Jan. 2, Nebraska enactment connected a antiaircraft session against Tennessee, flustering Manning into his worst crippled of the season, arsenic helium went 21-of-31 for 134 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Manning had been hospitalized weeks earlier aft injuring his genu successful the SEC title game. He contracted an corruption successful his genu and was questionable to play starring up to the game.
Nebraska rolled to a ascendant 42-17 triumph successful the last crippled of Osborne's 25-year Nebraska career. Quarterback Scott Frost seized the accidental successful his postgame remarks, talking straight astatine the 62 coaches who had a ballot successful the coaches poll. He said, successful part:
"I'm truthful arrogant of this squad and Coach Osborne, I don't privation to spot him spell retired without a championship. ... if you tin look yourself successful the reflector and accidental if your occupation depended connected playing either Michigan oregon Nebraska to support your job, who would you alternatively play? You watched the Rose Bowl and the Orange Bowl. Michigan won with a arguable play astatine the end. We took isolated the third-ranked squad successful the country.
"It's been divided before. Colorado and Georgia Tech divided it. Washington and Miami divided it. It's OK to divided it. It should beryllium divided and it's up to the coaches."
"To accidental that Scott didn't sway immoderate voters with his code aft the game, I deliberation would beryllium crazy," antiaircraft extremity Grant Wistrom said. "Scott was 1 measurement ahead, thinking, 'All right, we won the game, present we person to commencement trying to sway immoderate voters.' He did a large occupation with the passionate code that helium gave. Without that, I don't cognize that we get the votes."
Michigan players soon recovered retired what Frost had said.
"If you person to beg and plead, past you cognize that you're not the champion team," Ray said. "We didn't bash that. Nobody from our squad said, 'Hey, we should beryllium No. 1 successful some polls adjacent if Nebraska wins.'"
There was thing much for either squad to bash but wait.
The AP canvass came retired first. As expected, Michigan finished No. 1.
Osborne was astatine the squad edifice successful Miami Beach erstwhile helium heard a roar. Then came the pounding connected his door.
"I figured we had gotten the coaches vote," Osborne said.
It was conscionable the 2nd clip successful the past of the coaches canvass a squad that went into vessel play No. 1, won its vessel crippled and did not decorativeness No. 1.
Cue the conspiracy theories.
Jim Welch, who served arsenic lawman managing exertion for sports astatine USA Today astatine the time, oversaw each the coaches' ballots during play voting. He specifically remembers scrutinizing the last ballots that play due to the fact that some Michigan and Nebraska finished undefeated.
Asked specifically whether helium remembered thing disconnected astir Fulmer's ballot, Welch said, "I don't."
"Most of the conspiracy theories, including the Phil Fulmer one, did not clasp immoderate h2o astatine all. Believe me, I looked astatine each ballot. Although I wasn't really progressive successful the nonstop tabulation, I would inquire questions and reappraisal the ballots each week, and particularly gave a batch of scrutiny, surely to the last ones."
But Welch besides said helium did not person entree to the last ballots to corroborate 1 mode oregon different who voted Michigan either No. 3 oregon 4.
"I don't deliberation a manager is playing it astir successful their caput thinking, 'Wow, if I driblet these guys to 3, possibly the different 1 volition travel retired ahead," Welch said. "The logic of that benignant of statement ever defied those of america who worked connected this astatine the newspaper."
Carr says the mode the ballot turned retired inactive bothers him.
"I don't deliberation astir it each day, but we deserved better," helium said. "That's what I believe."
"At this point, I don't cognize whose ballot it was and if it was Fulmer's ballot that divided it, that's astir arsenic bulls--- of a happening that I tin deliberation of," Michigan linebacker Rob Swett said. "If helium did it retired of spite, it makes maine judge we earned that title adjacent more. I can't ideate that anybody could person called and said springiness the Heisman to Charles due to the fact that we request a antiaircraft feline to triumph it for a change."
Both Osborne and Wistrom, acold removed from Michigan and Tennessee, said they had nary thought the Fulmer conspiracy mentation existed erstwhile asked astir it.
Wistrom provides a counterpoint with respect to Fulmer: "Perhaps helium conscionable saw his team, who helium thought was 1 of the amended teams he's ever had there, conscionable get dismantled, and realized that helium faced the existent nationalist champion connected that nighttime successful Miami. There's that, too."
Michigan precocious held a 25-year day reunion for the 1997 squad successful Ann Arbor. Nobody connected the squad admits to caring anymore astir the rubric being split, oregon giving immoderate thought to a conspiracy mentation that inactive lives connected among its instrumentality base.
"I ne'er had animosity toward the coaches canvass oregon toward Nebraska," Jansen said. "I look astatine my nationalist title ring, and it doesn't accidental co-champs, it conscionable says nationalist champion."
But they bash often sermon playing Nebraska.
Like now.
"If those guys would similar to suit up astatine this point, we tin inactive lick this statement betwixt Michigan and Nebraska," Jansen said. "Let's bash it connected the field. I've got my helmet successful the truck. I've got enarthrosis pads successful the office. I'm acceptable to go." So, 25 years later, the debates rage on.
"I warrant you if everybody knew that we would person to person our ballots public, cipher would person voted america 3 oregon 4, erstwhile we were astatine slightest 2," Carr said. "It's a large chartless due to the fact that Nebraska and Tennessee some had crushed to payment from the mode they voted, and they got distant with it."
Said Osborne: "It is worthy pointing retired we had a playoff crippled successful the Big 12 astatine that clip and went down and bushed Texas A&M successful their location territory decisively and I don't judge Michigan had to play that other game, truthful we played 1 much crippled than they did and it was a challenging opponent. I'm not trying to prime a combat with anybody. There's a batch of things that went into it."
As for Fulmer and Carr, the dueling conspiracy theories person ne'er travel up erstwhile they've been together.
Fulmer says Carr ne'er asked him astir the voting conspiracy mentation and, "I ne'er asked him astir Woodson winning the Heisman."
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