Why the 1997 Michigan team deserves more respect

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The Athletic is doing a bit of a retrospective, looking back to the 1990s in college football. It was something of a glorious era, with the sport reaching new heights, and some of the most iconic players and coaches, who are still being talked about to this day, rising to prominent peaks.

Stewart Mandel from the outlet was tasked with coming up with the 15 best teams from the 1990s. And given that Michigan football won the national championship (technically a share with Nebraska) in 1997, it was certainly going to be on the list. The question, then, was where it would be on said list?

Mandel had the 1997 Wolverines ranked No. 9 overall of the best teams in the decade — though perhaps controversially, they were listed two spots behind 1997 Nebraska.

9. 1997 Michigan (12-0)

AP All-Americans: TE Jerame Tuman, DE Glen Steele, LB Sam Sword, CB Charles Woodson, S Marcus Ray

Signature wins: vs. No. 9 Washington State (21-16 in the Rose Bowl), No. 12 Ohio State (20-14), at No. 16 Penn State (34-8)

Led by Woodson, the first primarily defensive Heisman winner, Michigan stifled opposing offenses to the tune of 9.5 points per game. Lloyd Carr’s team flew under the radar until facing then second-ranked Penn State on Nov. 8 and thumping the Nittany Lions 34-8. Two weeks later, they humbled fourth-ranked Ohio State, with Woodson scoring both receiving and return touchdowns and picking off a pass in the end zone. He then intercepted No. 2 pick Ryan Leaf in the Rose Bowl.

In his Nebraska ranking, Mandel made it sound like a foregone conclusion that Nebraska was long seen as the best team, despite it being the other way around.

The close call against Missouri allowed Michigan to finish No. 1 in the AP poll, but the coaches poll gave the retiring Osborne his third trophy.

While it was admirable that the Huskers held Peyton Manning and the Vols to just 134 yards passing, the Michigan team that took the field dominated nearly everyone defensively, with one of the best defenses known to the sport. As a result, Charles Woodson became the first primarily defensive player in the sport to win a Heisman Trophy — over Manning, no less — while the defensive front also managed to wreak havoc on opposing offensive lines.

Perhaps Mandel's reasoning is that he gave Michigan only three signature wins, while he gave Nebraska five. Unfortunately, this is the debate that will continue to rage on between the two fan bases for time immemorial.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Why the 1997 Michigan team deserves more respect

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