At Tennessee, quarterback Peyton Manning’s quest for a national championship was the stuff of legend.
He never could quite lead the Volunteers to the Promised Land. In 1995, Tennessee collapsed at Florida and settled for a Citrus Bowl berth. In 1996, losses to the Gators and Memphis sent the Volunteers back to Orlando. And in 1997, Manning couldn’t lead one-loss Tennessee past Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, which would have given the Volunteers a share of the crown with Michigan.
ESPN, however, wrote an alternate history during the Orange Bowl Friday night. On its broadcast of Tennessee’s 31–14 win over Clemson, a chyron proclaimed Manning a “1998 National Champion,” despite the fact that the same graphic correctly identified Manning’s college career as having lasted from 1994 to ’97.
Manning, who graduated from the University of Tennessee in three years, was taken No. 1 overall in the 1998 NFL draft. He spent his rookie year with the Colts, who limped to a 3–13 record.
In Knoxville, Tenn., as any devoted student of college football history knows, the Volunteers ironically made history immediately after Manning’s departure. With quarterback Tee Martin taking the reins, Tennessee ended its Florida jinx, dispatched Mississippi State in the SEC championship game, and edged Florida State 23–16 in the Fiesta Bowl to win its most recent national title.
