With the win over Ohio State and Florida State's loss, Michigan received 69 of 70 first place votes in the AP Poll and 46 of 62 in the Coaches Poll. The Rose Bowl was set to have its first consensus No. 1 participant since Ohio State in the 1980 Rose Bowl. During the 1997 award season, Charles Woodson became one of the most honored players in Michigan history. He was selected as Michigan's Most Valuable Player, a first-team All-Big Ten player and a first-team All-American. On December 1, 1997, he received the Walter Camp Award as the college football "Player of the Year". On December 11, 1997, Woodson also won the Bednarik Award as top defensive player and the Jim Thorpe Award as top defensive back. By a margin of 55 votes out of 2,500 votes cast, Woodson was beaten by Peyton Manning for the Maxwell Award. The award season culminated with the Heisman Trophy. Woodson was invited to the Downtown Athletic Club for the Heisman announcement along with fellow finalists Manning, Ryan Leaf, and Randy Moss. Woodson won the Heisman, edging Manning by a margin of 1815–1543 points and 433–281 first place votes. He became the first predominately defensive player to receive the award. As of the completion of the 2017 season, Woodson is the last player not either a running back or quarterback to win the award. Other Michigan players recognized in the 1997 award season included first-team All-Americans Glen Steele and Jerame Tuman. Ten members of the team were honored as All-Big Ten Conference selections, and running back Anthony Thomas was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Head coach Lloyd Carr won the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award, the George Munger Award, and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award. As the Big Ten champion, Michigan faced the Pac-10 champion Washington State Cougars in the 1998 Rose Bowl. The game matched the nation's best defense against the number two offense. Michigan's defense allowed an average of 206.9 yards per game through the regular season, while Washington State averaged 42.5 points and 502.1 yards a game. Washington State, which featured quarterback Ryan Leaf and a five-wideout offense, had established Pac-10 passing records with 3,637 yards and 33 touchdowns. The game marked Michigan's first Rose Bowl since 1993 and Washington State's first since 1931. Going into the game, Michigan held a 68–1 and 53.5–8.5 first place vote lead in the AP and Coaches Polls over fellow unbeaten Nebraska, respectively.