CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1990 Tennessee

9–⁠2–⁠2 (5–⁠1–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Johnny Majors, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 1990, game by game: tied vs. Colorado 31–31; won vs. Pacific 55–7; won at Mississippi State 40–7; won vs. UTEP 56–0; tied at No. 3 Auburn 26–26; won vs. No. 9 Florida 45–3; lost vs. Alabama 6–9; won vs. Temple 41–20; lost vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 29–34; won vs. No. 15 Ole Miss 22–13; won vs. Kentucky 42–28; won at Vanderbilt 49–20; won vs. Virginia 23–22+56−5Tied 31–31 vs. Colorado0ColoradoWon 55–7 vs. Pacific+48PacificWon 40–7 at Mississippi State+33Mississippi Sta…Won 56–0 vs. UTEP+56UTEPTied 26–26 at No. 3 Auburn0No. 3 AuburnWon 45–3 vs. No. 9 Florida+42No. 9 FloridaLost 6–9 vs. Alabama-3AlabamaWon 41–20 vs. Temple+21TempleLost 29–34 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame-5No. 1 Notre DameWon 22–13 vs. No. 15 Ole Miss+9No. 15 Ole MissWon 42–28 vs. Kentucky+14KentuckyWon 49–20 at Vanderbilt+29VanderbiltWon 23–22 vs. Virginia+1Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 26vsColoradoT 31–⁠3148%
Sep 1vsPacificW 55–⁠789%
Sep 8atMississippi StateW 40–⁠769%
Sep 15vsUTEPW 56–⁠087%
Sep 29at3AuburnT 26–⁠2638%
Oct 13vs9FloridaW 45–⁠364%
Oct 20vsAlabamaL 6–⁠968%
Nov 3vsTempleW 41–⁠2086%
Nov 10vs1Notre DameL 29–⁠3449%
Nov 17vs15Ole MissW 22–⁠1356%
Nov 24vsKentuckyW 42–⁠2886%
Dec 1atVanderbiltW 49–⁠2090%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsVirginiaSugar BowlW 23–⁠2261%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Virginia 23–⁠22 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Southeastern Conference champions5–⁠1–⁠1 in the conference

Led the nationDale Carter: kickoff return average (29.8)

Consensus All-AmericanAntone Davis, OT

Record
9–⁠2–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠1–⁠1 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 3
Points
465–⁠220
Coach
Johnny Majors
Elo
1711 +72 this season
SP+ rating
21.9 No. 11 of 104; offense No. 12, defense No. 28
SRS
17.0 No. 14 of 107 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Phillip Fulmer
Defensive coordinator
Larry Lacewell
Captains
Tony Thompson and Roland Poles

Drafted in 1991

The 1991 draft
Rd 1Charles McRae OTTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 1Antone Davis OTPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 1Alvin Harper WRDallas Cowboys
Rd 3Chuck Webb RBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 5Harlan Davis DBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 5Anthony Morgan WRChicago Bears

All-SEC

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 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida6–⁠19–⁠213
Tennessee5–⁠1–⁠19–⁠2–⁠28
Ole Miss5–⁠29–⁠321
Alabama5–⁠27–⁠5
Auburn4–⁠2–⁠18–⁠3–⁠119
Kentucky3–⁠44–⁠7
LSU2–⁠55–⁠6
Georgia2–⁠54–⁠7
Mississippi State1–⁠65–⁠6
Vanderbilt1–⁠61–⁠10

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