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1990 Michigan State

8–⁠3–⁠1 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by George Perles, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1990, game by game: tied at Syracuse 23–23; lost vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 19–20; won at Rutgers 34–10; lost vs. Iowa 7–12; won at No. 1 Michigan 28–27; lost at No. 8 Illinois 13–15; won vs. Purdue 55–33; won vs. Indiana 45–20; won at Minnesota 28–16; won at Northwestern 29–22; won vs. Wisconsin 14–9; won vs. No. 21 USC 17–16+25−5Tied 23–23 at Syracuse0SyracuseLost 19–20 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame-1No. 1 Notre DameWon 34–10 at Rutgers+24RutgersLost 7–12 vs. Iowa-5IowaWon 28–27 at No. 1 Michigan+1No. 1 MichiganLost 13–15 at No. 8 Illinois-2No. 8 IllinoisWon 55–33 vs. Purdue+22PurdueWon 45–20 vs. Indiana+25IndianaWon 28–16 at Minnesota+12MinnesotaWon 29–22 at Northwestern+7NorthwesternWon 14–9 vs. Wisconsin+5WisconsinWon 17–16 vs. No. 21 USC+1No. 21 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15atSyracuseT 23–⁠2347%
Sep 22vs1Notre DameL 19–⁠2041%
Sep 29atRutgersW 34–⁠1064%
Oct 6vsIowaL 7–⁠1274%
Oct 13at1MichiganW 28–⁠2730%
Oct 20at8IllinoisL 13–⁠1540%
Oct 27vsPurdueW 55–⁠3386%
Nov 3vsIndianaW 45–⁠2066%
Nov 10atMinnesotaW 28–⁠1657%
Nov 17atNorthwesternW 29–⁠2286%
Nov 24vsWisconsinW 14–⁠992%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs21USCJohn Hancock BowlW 17–⁠1647%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat USC 17–⁠16 in the John Hancock Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 23
  2. Wk 2: 22
  3. Wk 3: 19
  4. Wk 4: 24
  5. Wk 5: 22
  6. Wk 6: 18
  7. Wk 8: 24
  8. Wk 11: 24
  9. Wk 12: 23
  10. Wk 13: 24
  11. Wk 14: 23
  12. Wk 15: 22
  13. Final: 16

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.

Big Ten champions6–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Illinois, Iowa and Michigan

Record
8–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠2 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 16
Points
312–⁠223
Coach
George Perles
Elo
1667 +55 this season
SP+ rating
12.6 No. 26 of 104; offense No. 35, defense No. 25
SRS
11.4 No. 23 of 107 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Morris Watts
Defensive coordinator
Norm Parker
Captains
Dan Enos, Mike Iaquaniello, Carlos Jenkins and Eric Moten
Most valuable player
Dan Enos and Hyland Hickson

Drafted in 1991

The 1991 draft
Rd 1Bobby Wilson DTWashington Redskins
Rd 2Dixon Edwards LBDallas Cowboys
Rd 2Eric Moten OGSan Diego Chargers
Rd 3Carlos Jenkins LBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 5Duane Young TESan Diego Chargers
Rd 7James Bradley WRIndianapolis Colts

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second 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 Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan6–⁠29–⁠37
Michigan State6–⁠28–⁠3–⁠116
Iowa6–⁠28–⁠418
Illinois6–⁠28–⁠425
Ohio State5–⁠2–⁠17–⁠4–⁠1
Minnesota5–⁠36–⁠5
Indiana3–⁠4–⁠16–⁠5–⁠1
Northwestern1–⁠72–⁠9
Purdue1–⁠72–⁠9
Wisconsin0–⁠81–⁠10

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