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Johnny Majors, Peyton Maning proved Heisman Trophy bias

By Caleb Calhoun

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 14: The trophy presented to Quarterback Joe Burrow of the LSU Tigers winner of the 85th annual Heisman Memorial Trophy is seen on December 14, 2019 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 14: The trophy presented to Quarterback Joe Burrow of the LSU Tigers winner of the 85th annual Heisman Memorial Trophy is seen on December 14, 2019 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /
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Voting standards reversed for the Heisman Trophy to rob both Tennessee football Volunteers.

Note: This is part of a series of posts remembering Johnny Majors and all that he accomplished for Tennessee football as a player and a coach. 

As we continue honoring the late Johnny Majors, one thing that should not be lost on fans is that he was the first player to expose one clear issue: The Heisman Trophy bias against Tennessee football. Majors was the original Peyton Manning, and both have gone down in history as Vols robbed of the award.

If you really look at reasoning, voters had to completely change their standards to make sure both of them lost out on it. This is the critical point about why so many Vols fans see a bias. When Majors was the runner-up to Paul Hornung in 1956, it was the only time in history a player on a losing team won the award. That remains the case to this day.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish went 2-8 that year behind Hornung. Meanwhile, the Vols went 10-0 in the regular season, won the SEC Championship and had a legitimate chance to say they deserved the national title.

However, voters determined the Heisman Trophy is an individual award, not a team award, and as a result, they gave it to Hornung. We should not that Jim Brown had a case over both of them if it was an individual award.

Fast-forward 41 years later. Peyton Manning by far is the best statistical player that year. He is a quarterback who shattered SEC record after SEC record, throwing for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns while leading UT to an SEC Championship.

All of a sudden, Heisman Trophy voters ignored this 40-plus year standard that they had set to rob Manning and gave the award to Michigan Wolverines defensive back Charles Woodson. Once again, this was a first, as no defensive player had ever won the award before.

Why did Woodson get it? Well, voters said he was the best player on the best team, as Michigan was undefeated and ranked No. 1, while UT was ranked No. 3 at 11-1. All of a sudden, team success mattered.

Reasoning was Manning’s inability to beat the Florida Gators. He lost to a rival, so that was disqualifying. However, Hornung lost to eight teams in 1956, and it was still perfectly ok for him to win the award over Majors.

Ok, so the voters were not the same voters in 1956 and 1997. However, the standard that held against Majors held all the way to 1996, just one year mysteriously before Manning was up to win the award.

The previous two Heisman Trophy winners before Manning were Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel and Ohio State Buckeyes running back Eddie George. Wuerffel won the award after also going 11-1 and winning the SEC Championship. He lost to the Florida State Seminoles. Doesn’t that count as losing to a rivalry?

Meanwhile, in 1995, Ohio State also was 11-1 and didn’t even win the Big Ten Championship. Why was that the case? Well, they lost to the Michigan Wolverines in the final regular season game. Losing to their rival, costing them a conference title in the process, didn’t stop the voters from giving it to George.

Related Story. 10 best single seasons of all time by Vols. light

But somehow, that standard completely changed for Manning in 1997. Critics will say voters were proven right in both cases with Manning and Majors since they lost their bowl games. However, George and Ohio State lost theirs, and as we noted, that shouldn’t even matter with Hornung. He lost eight games for heaven’s sake!

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Another case against Manning is that UT struggled in lots of late October and November games, which was fresh in voters’ minds. He particularly looked bad against the South Carolina Gamecocks and Vanderbilt Commodores.

However, Manning also threw for 523 yards and five touchdowns against the Kentucky Wildcats, and he threw for four touchdowns and over 370 yards while leading the Vols back from 10 points down to beat the Auburn Tigers in the second half of the SEC Championship game. So that doesn’t hold water.

Woodson being a triple-threat, playing cornerback, wide receiver and returner, also was brought up. However, want to know who else was a triple threat? Yep, it was Majors. He was the Vols’ leading passer, rusher and punter in 1956. Why did that not count?

Next. Vols 10 luckiest wins of all time. dark

Simply put, there is no way anybody could reasonably say a Heisman Trophy bias didn’t exist against the Vols when both Manning and Majors were runner-ups. History was made with the winner both times they lost, once with the only winner on a losing team and another time with the only defensive player to win the award. Majors was the first to prove that.

For more posts remembering Johnny Majors’ accomplishments on Rocky Top as a player and coach for Tennessee football, please click here.

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