CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

The 1990 season

Colorado finished No. 1 in the final AP poll, 11–⁠1–⁠1 under Bill McCartney, after it beat Notre Dame 10–⁠9 in the Orange Bowl. Georgia Tech also claims the national title. The biggest game by the rankings: No. 1 Notre Dame 28, No. 4 Michigan 24 (Sep 15, 1990). One Division I-A team finished unbeaten. 58 ranked teams lost to unranked or lower-ranked opponents.

Heisman Trophy: Ty Detmer, QB, BYU, who also won the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien.

The Heisman vote: Ty Detmer 1,482 points, Raghib Ismail 1,177
PlayerPoints1st2nd3rd
Ty Detmer QB, BYU1,482316208118
Raghib Ismail WR, Notre Dame1,177237174118
Eric Bieniemy RB, Colorado798114153150
Shawn Moore QB, Virginia4654696135
David Klingler QB, Houston12572750
Herman Moore WR, Virginia6861422
Greg Lewis RB, Washington414519
Craig Erickson QB, Miami (FL)310619
Darren Lewis RB, Texas A&M310913
Mike Mayweather RB, Army20343

First-, second- and third-place votes (3, 2 and 1 points), from the season’s Wikipedia article, as published.

Scoreboards

Final AP poll

1ColoradoBig Eight
2Georgia TechAtlantic Coast Conference
3MiamiIndependent
4Florida StateIndependent
5WashingtonPac-10
6Notre DameIndependent
7MichiganBig Ten
8TennesseeSoutheastern Conference
9ClemsonAtlantic Coast Conference
10HoustonSouthwest Conference
11Penn StateIndependent
12TexasSouthwest Conference
13FloridaSoutheastern Conference
14LouisvilleIndependent
15Texas A&MSouthwest Conference
16Michigan StateBig Ten
17OklahomaBig Eight
18IowaBig Ten
19AuburnSoutheastern Conference
20USCPac-10
21Ole MissSoutheastern Conference
22BYUWestern Athletic Conference
23VirginiaAtlantic Coast Conference
24NebraskaBig Eight
25IllinoisBig Ten

Biggest upsets

Oct 6, 1990Stanford 36, 1Notre Dame 31
Oct 13, 1990Michigan State 28, 1Michigan 27
Nov 10, 1990UCLA 25, 2Washington 22
Oct 20, 1990Alabama 9, 3Tennessee 6
Sep 29, 1990Oregon 32, 4BYU 16
Oct 13, 1990Texas 14, 4Oklahoma 13
Dec 1, 1990Hawai’i 59, 4BYU 28
Nov 10, 1990Ohio State 27, 6Iowa 26
Nov 17, 1990Maryland 35, 8Virginia 30
Nov 17, 199018Penn State 24, 1Notre Dame 21
Sep 22, 199021Washington 31, 5USC 0
Nov 23, 1990Oklahoma 45, 10Nebraska 10

Ranked teams that lost as the betting favorite, the longest shots first, with the winner’s odds on the line; before lines are on file, ranked teams beaten by unranked or lower-ranked ones.

The AP poll, week by week

The AP poll’s top 10 in 1990, week by week1510152025Wk 1Wk 3Wk 5Wk 7Wk 9Wk 11Wk 13Wk 15FinalHouston: Wk 1 No. 24, Wk 2 No. 24, Wk 3 No. 18, Wk 4 No. 14, Wk 5 No. 13, Wk 6 No. 13, Wk 7 No. 12, Wk 8 No. 9, Wk 9 No. 6, Wk 10 No. 6, Wk 11 No. 3, Wk 12 No. 12, Wk 13 No. 12, Wk 14 No. 11, Wk 15 No. 9, Final No. 1010 HoustonClemson: Wk 1 No. 10, Wk 2 No. 9, Wk 3 No. 16, Wk 4 No. 17, Wk 5 No. 19, Wk 6 No. 16, Wk 7 No. 15, Wk 8 No. 22, Wk 9 No. 19, Wk 10 No. 18, Wk 11 No. 18, Wk 12 No. 17, Wk 13 No. 16, Wk 14 No. 14, Wk 15 No. 14, Final No. 99 ClemsonTennessee: Wk 1 No. 8, Wk 2 No. 8, Wk 3 No. 7, Wk 4 No. 6, Wk 5 No. 5, Wk 6 No. 6, Wk 7 No. 5, Wk 8 No. 3, Wk 9 No. 11, Wk 10 No. 11, Wk 11 No. 9, Wk 12 No. 14, Wk 13 No. 14, Wk 14 No. 12, Wk 15 No. 10, Final No. 88 TennesseeMichigan: Wk 1 No. 6, Wk 2 No. 5, Wk 3 No. 4, Wk 4 No. 7, Wk 5 No. 6, Wk 6 No. 3, Wk 7 No. 1, Wk 8 No. 10, Wk 9 No. 20, Wk 10 No. 20, Wk 11 No. 19, Wk 12 No. 16, Wk 13 No. 15, Wk 14 No. 13, Wk 15 No. 12, Final No. 77 MichiganNotre Dame: Wk 1 No. 2, Wk 2 No. 2, Wk 3 No. 1, Wk 4 No. 1, Wk 5 No. 1, Wk 6 No. 1, Wk 7 No. 8, Wk 8 No. 6, Wk 9 No. 3, Wk 10 No. 2, Wk 11 No. 1, Wk 12 No. 1, Wk 13 No. 7, Wk 14 No. 7, Wk 15 No. 5, Final No. 66 Notre DameWashington: Wk 1 No. 20, Wk 2 No. 20, Wk 3 No. 22, Wk 4 No. 21, Wk 5 No. 12, Wk 6 No. 17, Wk 7 No. 17, Wk 8 No. 13, Wk 9 No. 7, Wk 10 No. 7, Wk 11 No. 2, Wk 12 No. 10, Wk 13 No. 9, Wk 14 No. 9, Wk 15 No. 8, Final No. 55 WashingtonFlorida State: Wk 1 No. 4, Wk 2 No. 3, Wk 3 No. 3, Wk 4 No. 2, Wk 5 No. 2, Wk 6 No. 2, Wk 7 No. 10, Wk 8 No. 7, Wk 9 No. 12, Wk 10 No. 12, Wk 11 No. 12, Wk 12 No. 9, Wk 13 No. 8, Wk 14 No. 8, Wk 15 No. 6, Final No. 44 Florida StateMiami: Wk 1 No. 1, Wk 2 No. 1, Wk 3 No. 10, Wk 4 No. 9, Wk 5 No. 10, Wk 6 No. 9, Wk 7 No. 3, Wk 8 No. 2, Wk 9 No. 8, Wk 10 No. 8, Wk 11 No. 5, Wk 12 No. 3, Wk 13 No. 2, Wk 14 No. 3, Wk 15 No. 4, Final No. 33 MiamiGeorgia Tech: Wk 1 unranked, Wk 2 unranked, Wk 3 unranked, Wk 4 unranked, Wk 5 unranked, Wk 6 No. 23, Wk 7 No. 18, Wk 8 No. 11, Wk 9 No. 16, Wk 10 No. 16, Wk 11 No. 7, Wk 12 No. 4, Wk 13 No. 3, Wk 14 No. 2, Wk 15 No. 2, Final No. 22 Georgia TechColorado: Wk 1 No. 5, Wk 2 No. 6, Wk 3 No. 9, Wk 4 No. 20, Wk 5 No. 20, Wk 6 No. 12, Wk 7 No. 14, Wk 8 No. 14, Wk 9 No. 10, Wk 10 No. 9, Wk 11 No. 4, Wk 12 No. 2, Wk 13 No. 1, Wk 14 No. 1, Wk 15 No. 1, Final No. 11 Colorado
The top 10 of the final AP poll and where each stood every week before it; a gap is a week out of the Top 25. Hover or tab to a line for its weeks.

Climbed

  1. Georgia Techunranked → No. 2
  2. WashingtonNo. 20 → No. 5
  3. HoustonNo. 24 → No. 10
  4. Texasunranked → No. 12
  5. Floridaunranked → No. 13

Fell

  1. NebraskaNo. 7 → No. 24
  2. AuburnNo. 3 → No. 19
  3. IllinoisNo. 11 → No. 25
  4. AlabamaNo. 12 → unranked
  5. ArkansasNo. 14 → unranked

From the season’s first AP poll (the preseason poll) to the final one.

National leaders

Passing yardsTy Detmer (BYU)5,188 yds
Passing touchdownsDavid Klingler (Houston)54 TD
Passer ratingShawn Moore (Virginia)160.7
Rushing yardsDarren Lewis (Texas A&M)1,691 yds
Rushing touchdownsStacey Robinson (Northern Illinois)19 TD
Yards per carryNikki Fisher (Virginia)7.0
ReceptionsEric Morgan (New Mexico)80 catches
Receiving yardsPatrick Rowe (San Diego State)1,392 yds
Yards per catchBryan Rowley (Utah)27.2
Receiving touchdownsTracey Jenkins (Pacific)14 TD
PointsStacey Robinson (Northern Illinois)120 pts
Points per gameStacey Robinson (Northern Illinois)10.9
Total offenseDavid Klingler (Houston)5,221 yds
Total offense per gameDavid Klingler (Houston)474.6
Punt return averageDave McCloughan (Colorado)16.4
Kickoff return averageDale Carter (Tennessee)29.8

The NCAA’s official leaders. From Wikipedia’s yearly NCAA leader lists for passing, rushing, receiving, scoring, total offense and returns.

Conference champions

Division I-A

Atlantic Coast Conference
Georgia Tech
Big Eight
Colorado
Big Ten
Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State (shared)
Big West
San José State
Mid-American Conference
Central Michigan and Toledo (shared)
Pac-10
Washington
Southeastern Conference
Tennessee
Southwest Conference
Texas
Western Athletic Conference
BYU

Division I-AA

Big Sky
Nevada
Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference
Northern Iowa
Ivy League
Cornell and Dartmouth (shared)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Florida A&M
Missouri Valley Football Conference
Missouri State
Ohio Valley Conference
Eastern Kentucky and Middle Tennessee (shared)
Patriot League
Holy Cross
Southern Conference
Furman
Southland Conference
UL Monroe
Southwestern Athletic Conference
Jackson State
Yankee Conference
Massachusetts

Division II and below

Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference
Central Arkansas
Atlantic Collegiate Football Conference
Marist
Liberty Football Conference
Long Island University
Lone Star Conference
East Texas A&M
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
St. Thomas (MN)
North Central Conference
North Dakota State
Northern California Athletic Conference
UC Davis
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Alabama A&M
Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Tarleton State
Western Football Conference
Cal Poly

From each program’s Wikipedia article, with the conference’s name that season. Titles come from the articles of today’s FBS and FCS programs, so a title shared with a school outside them lists only one champion.

Consensus All-Americans

24 playersAll 10 selectors’ teams

Players picked by enough of the major selectors to count as consensus, shown in bold in Wikipedia’s 1990 All-America article. Every selector’s teams, first to last, are on the 1990 All-America teams page.

The 1990 awards

Every award

Player of the year

By position

Scholarship and character

Coaches

The champions’ staffs

Every title staff

Colorado 12 on the staff list

  • Bill McCartneyhead coach
  • Gary Barnettassistant coach, quarterbacks, Fullbacks (part of the season)
  • Mike Barryassistant coach, offensive line
  • Brian Cabralassistant coach, inside linebackers
  • Gerry DiNardoassistant coach, offensive coordinator, tight ends (part of the season)
  • Don Freaseassistant coach, wide receivers
  • Mike Hankwitzassistant coach, defensive coordinator, defensive backs
  • Oliver Lucasassistant coach, running backs
  • Bob Simmonsassistant coach, outside linebackers
  • Ron Vanderlindenassistant coach, defensive line
Support staff (2)

Strength and conditioning

  • Jeff Madden assistant athletics director of strength and conditioning

Operations and recruiting

  • Rick George assistant athletic director for football operations

Georgia Tech 23 on the staff list

Support staff (13)

Strength and conditioning

  • Jim Lathrop director of player development (oversees the strength and conditioning program)
  • Jim Schulze assistant director of player development

Operations and recruiting

  • A.C. Mayo administrative assistant to the head football coach
  • Diane Metcalf administrative assistant for football
  • Mike Finn Asst. AD, communications
  • Mike Stamus assistant SID
  • Frank Zang assistant SID
  • Allison George assistant SID

Sports medicine and nutrition

  • Jay Shoop assistant athletic director in charge of sports medicine
  • Mark Albert assistant trainer, Physical Therapist
  • Arnold Gamber assistant trainer
  • Crandall Woodson assistant trainer

Video, communications and other staff

  • Homer C. Rice athletic director

The staff as the school listed it that season, roles in the source’s words (students and graduate assistants left out). Names link to coach pages where we have one, else to Wikipedia. Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages.

Bowls and playoff

Scoreboard
Dec 8, 1990San José State 48, Central Michigan 24California Bowl
Dec 15, 1990Maryland 34, Louisiana Tech 34Independence Bowl
Dec 25, 1990Syracuse 28, Arizona 0Aloha Bowl
Dec 27, 1990Air Force 23, 24Ohio State 11Liberty Bowl
Dec 28, 19906Florida State 24, 7Penn State 17Blockbuster Bowl
Dec 28, 1990NC State 31, 23Southern Miss 27All-American Bowl
Dec 29, 1990Auburn 27, Indiana 23Peach Bowl
Dec 29, 1990Colorado State 32, Oregon 31Freedom Bowl
Dec 29, 1990Texas A&M 65, 13BYU 14Holiday Bowl
Dec 31, 1990California 17, Wyoming 15Copper Bowl
Dec 31, 199022Michigan State 17, 21USC 16John Hancock Bowl
Jan 1, 199114Clemson 30, 16Illinois 0Hall of Fame Bowl
Jan 1, 19911Colorado 10, 5Notre Dame 9Orange Bowl
Jan 1, 19912Georgia Tech 45, 19Nebraska 21Citrus Bowl
Jan 1, 199118Louisville 34, 25Alabama 7Fiesta Bowl
Jan 1, 19914Miami 46, 3Texas 3Cotton Bowl
Jan 1, 199112Michigan 35, 15Ole Miss 3Gator Bowl
Jan 1, 199110Tennessee 23, Virginia 22Sugar Bowl
Jan 1, 19918Washington 46, 17Iowa 34Rose Bowl