CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1990 Michigan

9–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Gary Moeller, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1990, game by game: lost at No. 1 Notre Dame 24–28; won vs. UCLA 38–15; won vs. Maryland 45–17; won at Wisconsin 41–3; lost vs. Michigan State 27–28; lost vs. No. 22 Iowa 23–24; won at Indiana 45–19; won at Purdue 38–13; won vs. No. 17 Illinois 22–17; won vs. Minnesota 35–18; won at No. 19 Ohio State 16–13; won vs. No. 15 Ole Miss 35–3+38−4Lost 24–28 at No. 1 Notre Dame-4No. 1 Notre DameWon 38–15 vs. UCLA+23UCLAWon 45–17 vs. Maryland+28MarylandWon 41–3 at Wisconsin+38WisconsinLost 27–28 vs. Michigan State-1Michigan StateLost 23–24 vs. No. 22 Iowa-1No. 22 IowaWon 45–19 at Indiana+26IndianaWon 38–13 at Purdue+25PurdueWon 22–17 vs. No. 17 Illinois+5No. 17 IllinoisWon 35–18 vs. Minnesota+17MinnesotaWon 16–13 at No. 19 Ohio State+3No. 19 Ohio StateWon 35–3 vs. No. 15 Ole Miss+32No. 15 Ole Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15at1Notre DameL 24–⁠2835%
Sep 22vsUCLAW 38–⁠1576%
Sep 29vsMarylandW 45–⁠1776%
Oct 6atWisconsinW 41–⁠382%
Oct 13vsMichigan StateL 27–⁠2870%
Oct 20vs22IowaL 23–⁠2476%
Oct 27atIndianaW 45–⁠1956%
Nov 3atPurdueW 38–⁠1386%
Nov 10vs17IllinoisW 22–⁠1772%
Nov 17vsMinnesotaW 35–⁠1882%
Nov 24at19Ohio StateW 16–⁠1358%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs15Ole MissGator BowlW 35–⁠366%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ole Miss 35–⁠3 in the Gator Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 10
  9. Wk 9: 20
  10. Wk 10: 20
  11. Wk 11: 19
  12. Wk 12: 16
  13. Wk 13: 15
  14. Wk 14: 13
  15. Wk 15: 12
  16. Final: 7

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 State

Consensus All-AmericanTripp Welborne, DB

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 1
Points
389–⁠198
Coach
Gary Moeller
Elo
1761 +97 this season
SP+ rating
22.5 No. 10 of 104; offense No. 18, defense No. 14
SRS
20.7 No. 7 of 107 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Lloyd Carr
Captains
Jarrod Bunch and John Milligan
Most valuable player
Tripp Welborne

Drafted in 1991

The 1991 draft
Rd 1Jarrod Bunch RBNew York Giants
Rd 5Jon Vaughn RBNew England Patriots
Rd 6David Key DBNew England Patriots
Rd 7Tripp WeLBorne DBMinnesota Vikings

All-Big Ten

8 first team, 1 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.