[rant] First off, two hours of hype and highlights is just f'ing absurd. I know they have to milk it for all it's worth, but jeez. Like I need to meet the guy who won it 50 years ago. Second, just like '97, a Manning kid loses out despite being the best QB in the country... and four years from now we'll be watching Eli play against Peyton in the Pro Bowl, while Jason White is the Assistant QB coach at Southwest Oklahoma Polytechnic University. I'm expecting him to uphold the great tradition of other recent Heisman winners, like Eric Crouch, Chris Weinke, Ron Dayne, Danny Wuerffel, and Rashaan Salaam, and completely flop in the NFL. Should have gone to Manning, or at least Fitzgerald. (And no, I don't think Chris Perry should have won.) Fitzgerald will win it next year if he stays, but will he? I doubt it. [/rant]
I don't really know what they mean by "the most oustanding player" but I would've picked Woodson over Peyton too. The Heisman Trophy doesn't necessarily reward the best college football player -which Manning was in 1998. Taking a very literal connotation of "outstanding", Woodson was the player who stood out the most and Michigan actually won its big game that season. Say what you will about White, he'll have a more productive NFL career than Andre Ware, Gino Torreta or Charlie Ward.