CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1990 Colorado

11–⁠1–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Big Eight), coached by Bill McCartney, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Colorado in 1990, game by game: tied vs. Tennessee 31–31; won vs. Stanford 21–17; lost at No. 21 Illinois 22–23; won at No. 22 Texas 29–22; won vs. No. 12 Washington 20–14; won at Missouri 33–31; won vs. Iowa State 28–12; won at Kansas 41–10; won vs. No. 22 Oklahoma 32–23; won at No. 3 Nebraska 27–12; won vs. Oklahoma State 41–22; won vs. Kansas State 64–3; won vs. No. 5 Notre Dame 10–9+61−1Tied 31–31 vs. Tennessee0TennesseeWon 21–17 vs. Stanford+4StanfordLost 22–23 at No. 21 Illinois-1No. 21 IllinoisWon 29–22 at No. 22 Texas+7No. 22 TexasWon 20–14 vs. No. 12 Washington+6No. 12 WashingtonWon 33–31 at Missouri+2MissouriWon 28–12 vs. Iowa State+16Iowa StateWon 41–10 at Kansas+31KansasWon 32–23 vs. No. 22 Oklahoma+9No. 22 OklahomaWon 27–12 at No. 3 Nebraska+15No. 3 NebraskaWon 41–22 vs. Oklahoma State+19Oklahoma StateWon 64–3 vs. Kansas State+61Kansas StateWon 10–9 vs. No. 5 Notre Dame+1No. 5 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 26vsTennesseeT 31–⁠3152%
Sep 6vsStanfordW 21–⁠1780%
Sep 15at21IllinoisL 22–⁠2354%
Sep 22at22TexasW 29–⁠2263%
Sep 29vs12WashingtonW 20–⁠1459%
Oct 6atMissouriW 33–⁠3174%
Oct 13vsIowa StateW 28–⁠1281%
Oct 20atKansasW 41–⁠1082%
Oct 27vs22OklahomaW 32–⁠2366%
Nov 3at3NebraskaW 27–⁠1239%
Nov 10vsOklahoma StateW 41–⁠2289%
Nov 17vsKansas StateW 64–⁠393%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5Notre DameOrange BowlW 10–⁠950%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Notre Dame 10–⁠9 in the Orange Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Big Eight champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 9
  4. Wk 4: 20
  5. Wk 5: 20
  6. Wk 6: 12
  7. Wk 7: 14
  8. Wk 8: 14
  9. Wk 9: 10
  10. Wk 10: 9
  11. Wk 11: 4
  12. Wk 12: 2
  13. Wk 13: 1
  14. Wk 14: 1
  15. Wk 15: 1
  16. Final: 1

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1990.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Big Eight champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteEric Bieniemy, third

Led the nationDave McCloughan: punt return average (16.4)

Butkus AwardAlfred Williams, LB

3 consensus All-AmericansEric Bieniemy, RB; Joe Garten, OG; Alfred Williams, LB

Record
11–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Big Eight
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
399–⁠229
Coach
Bill McCartney
Elo
1775 +122 this season
SP+ rating
26.7 No. 4 of 104; offense No. 14, defense No. 7
SRS
21.2 No. 6 of 107 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinators
Gerry DiNardo and Gary Barnett
Defensive coordinator
Mike Hankwitz
Captains
Joe Garten and Alfred Williams
Most valuable player
Mike Pritchard
Offense
I-bone option
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1991

The 1991 draft
Rd 1Mike Pritchard WRAtlanta Falcons
Rd 1Alfred Williams LBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 2Eric Bieniemy RBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 2Kanavis McGhee LBNew York Giants
Rd 3Dave McCloughan DBIndianapolis Colts
Rd 4Mark Vander Poel OTIndianapolis Colts
Rd 6Joe Garten CGreen Bay Packers

All-Big Eight

11 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1990 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1990 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Colorado7–⁠011–⁠1–⁠11
Nebraska5–⁠29–⁠324
Oklahoma5–⁠28–⁠317
Iowa State2–⁠4–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Kansas2–⁠4–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
Kansas State2–⁠55–⁠6
Oklahoma State2–⁠54–⁠7
Missouri2–⁠54–⁠7

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.