Actual winner: Charles Woodson, Michigan (click here to see voting)

Usually, by this time, it's a mere formality.

One player has stood so far above the crowd, stamped such an indelible mark, the suspense is long gone.

Not this year.

This year, the Heisman Trophy is a two-horse race that figures to go down to the wire between Tennessee's gifted quarterback, Peyton Manning, and Michigan's do-it-all cornerback / receiver / returner, Charles Woodson.

The winner will be announced Saturday at Manhattan's swank Downtown Athletic Club (5:30 p.m. MST, ESPN).

A total of 921 media members and past winners were sent ballots to anoint the winner of the 1997 John W. Heisman Memorial Trophy.

There are three spots on the ballots, which are due in New York on Thursday, and a vast majority will have Manning or Woodson No. 1.

Which means the voting very well might come down to a comparison of how many voters leave one of the front-runners off the ballot.

Third place figures to go to Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf, while fourth appears to be up for grabs between Marshall's Randy Moss and Texas' Ricky Williams.

If the Rocky Mountain News Heisman Poll is to keep up its record of predicting the Heisman winner — our poll champion has gone on to win it nine straight times — Woodson will be the man Saturday.

In the final poll taken Monday, Woodson edged Manning by four points, receiving six first-place votes to Manning's three.

But that's just 10 voters. About 850 official ballots will be turned in. So it's far too close to call at this point. Which should mean big-time ratings for ESPN Saturday evening.

Our poll voters made compelling arguments for their man.

''I had Manning at the beginning, and even though I fluctuated at times, when I look back on the big picture of the whole season, I still think he was the greatest player in college football,'' Richard Scott of the Birmingham (Ala.) Post-Herald said.

''He showed a lot of character under the spotlight.''

Added Jimmy Hyams of The Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel: ''I'm voting for Manning because he had a great, great season. I think the folks who say he never wins the big game are wrong. It's true he never beat Florida, but he beat three teams in the top 10 this year and he's beaten 11 ranked teams in his career. And I think Manning's intangibles are unmatched.''

But six of the 10 voters felt Woodson's impact on No. 1 Michigan's success couldn't be denied.

''He played with his head, his heart and his mouth, and I like all of that,'' said Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald.

Said Vahe Gregorian of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: ''He had the ability to control a game from the cornerback position, and that's just as valuable as controlling a game from the other side of the ball.''

Jake Curtis of the San Francisco Chronicle was the lone voter who voted Leaf first.

''I think he contributed more to the success of his team than any player in the country,'' Curtis said. ''He's the guy who lifted Washington State to the level it reached, and he's the reason that team is in the Rose Bowl. I don't even know if they're a top 25 team without him.''

But Kirk Bohls of the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman said it's impossible to overlook Woodson.

''What does the guy have to do, kick field goals, too?'' Bohls said. ''I mean, if a defensive player can't win the Heisman after the year he had, they might as well rename it the Heisman Quarterback Trophy.''

Final Heisman poll

Here's how the voting went for the final Rocky Mountain News Heisman Trophy poll of the season.

The Heisman will be awarded at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York during a ceremony to be televised by ESPN at 5:30 p.m. MST Saturday.

For the 11th consecutive season, the News has tracked Heisman hopefuls each week using a panel of 10 Heisman voters, two from each of five regions of the nation.

Each writer voted for five candidates, with five points awarded for a first-place vote, four for a second-place vote, etc.

The final poll, with first-place votes in parentheses:

Player, pos., school............Season statistics...........Pts.

Charles Woodson, CB/WR, Michigan....7 int, 11 rec., 231 receiving yards, 3 total TDs.............43 (6)

Peyton Manning, QB, Tennessee...287-477, 3,819 passing, 11 INT., 36 TDs......39 (3)

Ryan Leaf, QB, Washington St....210-375, 3,637 passing, 33 TDs......31 (1)

Ricky Williams, RB, Texas.......1,893 rushing, 6.78 avg., 25 TDs.....20

Randy Moss, WR, Marshall........90-1,647 receiving, 25 TDs..10

Others: Cade McNown, QB, UCLA, 3 points; Curtis Enis, RB, Penn State, 2; Skip Hicks, RB, UCLA, 1; Donovan McNabb, QB, Syracuse, 1.

The voters:

Jimmy Hyams, Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel;

Richard Scott, Birmingham (Ala.) Post-Herald;

John Lindsay, Scripps Howard News Service;

Mark Blaudschun, Boston Globe;

Vahe Gregorian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch;

Lee Barfknecht, Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald;

John Rohde, The Daily Oklahoman;

Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman;

Jake Curtis, San Francisco Chronicle;

and Randy Holtz, Rocky Mountain News.

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