1.
Charles
Woodson: Won the
Heisman Trophy and was the first and only primarily defensive player to win
college football’s top honor.
He won the Walter Camp Award as the
country’s top player. He was the Nagurski (top defensive player) and Thorpe
(top defensive back) award winner.
Woodson was a consensus All-American and
the Big 10 defensive player of the year for the second straight season.
He was 2nd in the NCAA in
interceptions with eight, including one incredible pick vs.
Michigan St.
He tallied 44 tackles, and nine pass
breakups.
On offense, Woodson he had 12 catches for
238 yards (19.8 ypc) and two scores, including a 37-yard score in 34-8 rout of
#16 Penn St.
He also accounted for a 33-yard TD run, and
301 yards on punt returns, including the game changing TD vs.
Ohio St.
Michigan would beat the #12
Buckeyes 20-14 and win the Big 10.
The Wolverines would win the National
Championship by knocking off
#9 Washington St. 21-16 in the Rose Bowl . Woodson picked off All-American
QB Ryan Leaf in the end zone to preserve a 7-0 deficit in the 1st
quarter.
The Maze and Blue would finish the season
ranked #1 in the AP poll and were 12-0. Michigan’s defense allowed just 9.5
points per game.
2.
Ryan Leaf: Finished 3rd
in the Heisman voting, and was 2nd team All-American by the AP and
first team by the Sporting News. He was the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the
Year.
He won the Sammy Baugh Trophy given to the
nation’s top passer.
He
was a finalist of for the Maxwell Award (POY) and O’Brien Trophy (QB of the
Year).
He was 2nd in the NCAA passing efficiency
(158.7) and third in total offense.
Leaf threw 3,637 yards 35 TDs (which were
both Pac-10 records) and just 10 Ints. He also added 4 rushing TDs.
Leaf’s season started with a
bang against #5 UCLA. He led Wazzu to
a 37-34 stunning win behind 381 yards and 3 TDs.
The Cougars claimed
the Pac-10 title with 41-35 win over #18 Washington, and advanced to the
Rose Bowl for the first time in 66 years. Leaf threw for 358 and two scores.
In the
Rose Bowl against #1 Michigan, Leaf helped give the Cougars a 7-0 lead with
a 1st quarter TD pass. He finished the evening with 331 yards thru
the air.
Washington St. led the Pac-10 in scoring
with 40.3 PPG. They
finished the season ranked #9 in polls with 10-2 mark overall, 7-1 in
conference.
3.
Peyton Manning: Was the
runner up in the Heisman race. He was named 1st team All-American by
the AP, the Football Writers, Walter Camp, and Football News.
He was named player
of the year (Maxwell) and QB of the Year (O’Brien, and Unitas awards).
He was named the SEC
Player of the Year and the MVP of the SEC Championship game.
Against #11 Auburn he
torched the Tigers for 373 yards and 4 TDs.
The SEC title game was one of nine 300+
yard games of the season.
Manning would finish with 3,819 yards 36
TDs and 11 Ints and a 145.3 efficiency rating in regular season.
He lit up #10 Georgia and # 5 UCLA for a combined
644 yards and six touchdowns.
In a 42-17 loss in the Orange Bowl to #2
Nebraska Manning threw for 134 and a TD.
