Julian: George missed boat on Manning

And did you mean what you said?

In case you missed it last week, the Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State and former Tennessee Titans running back told News Sentinel sportswriter Mike Strange that he voted for Michigan's Charles Woodson over the Vols' Peyton Manning for the 1997 Heisman because Manning "couldn't win the big one."

One more time, Eddie: Did you mean what you said or say what you meant?

What George said, word for word, according to Strange:

"If he (Manning) had beaten Florida and continued to have a great year he would have won. No question. Peyton had the stats and the career but it was about the best player that year.

"He couldn't win the big one."

If what George says is true, should George have won the Heisman in 1995?

The Buckeyes didn't make it to the Rose Bowl, so they played the Vols in the 1996 Citrus Bowl. Tennessee won 20-14. George, who scored on a 2-yard run, was held to 89 yards rushing -- his longest run was 17 yards -- and failed to get a much-needed yard on fourth down at Tennessee's 2. He was stuffed by Bill Duff. George might remember the name. Not many UT fans do.

Moreover, the Heisman man wasn't even the MVP. The Vols' Jay Graham -- who never made All-SEC in his four seasons, outdid George that day -- gaining 154 yards and scoring on a 69-yard-run. George got the Heisman, Graham the MVP. Graham won the big one. George didn't.

George also said he voted for Michigan's Woodson over Manning because "I believe to this day Charles Woodson was the best player in the country that year."

So did some others, including ABC's John Saunders.

When the Vols played Auburn in the 1997 SEC championship game, ABC analyst Bob Griese -- All-American at Purdue in 1966, NFL Hall of Famer and All-Pro quarterback for the Miami Dolphins -- commented late in the second quarter that he thought Manning was the top Heisman candidate. Keith Jackson, the announcer, said he opted for Washington State's Ryan Leaf because Jackson was a WSU alumnus.

During halftime break, Saunders jumped in and said something like no defensive player had ever had such an impact on the outcome of a game against Penn State as did Woodson.

What was Colonel Saunders thinking? He certainly didn't check his special recipe for the facts.

I guess Saunders never heard of Bobby Majors or what the Tennessee safety/wide receiver did against Penn State in 1971 -- ending the Nittany Lions' 16-game winning streak, 31-11. Majors returned a punt 44 yards for a touchdown, had another return of 38 and ran back two kickoffs for 113 yards. That was 195 yards in returns, plus he punted three times for a 37-yard average.

George shouldn't feel badly about having a below-par day against Tennessee. Lots of great players had similar experiences.

Yeah, including the 1971 Penn State tandem of Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell, who totaled less than 150 yards rushing. And there were Larry Csonka and Floyd Little of Syracuse who lost to the Vols in the 1966 Gator Bowl.

And think of the pain Kentucky All-America quarterback Vito "Babe" Parilli suffered against Tennessee 1949-51. The Wildcats never scored a point.

Harry Gilmer led Alabama to a 1946 Rose Bowl victory over Southern Cal, but he and the Tide lost at Neyland Stadium 12-0 the next fall. North Carolina All-American Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice was a victim of the Vols, too, as Walter Slater rambled 79 yards with a punt return -- and Justice took the bait as Slater faked a lateral.

Heisman winner Bo Jackson took so much punishment at Neyland Stadium in 1985 that he hardly played after halftime.

But the biggie -- like George's failure to get that yard -- was Heisman winner Billy Cannon's attempt to win with a 2-point conversion for No. 1 LSU in 1959 in Knoxville. Final: Tennessee 14, LSU 13.

Guess who's coming to town next weekend? LSU without its Cannon.