CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1990 Virginia

8–⁠4 (5–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by George Welsh, finished No. 23 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Virginia in 1990, game by game: won at Kansas 59–10; won vs. No. 9 Clemson 20–7; won vs. Navy 56–14; won at Duke 59–0; won vs. William & Mary 63–35; won vs. NC State 31–0; won at Wake Forest 49–14; lost vs. No. 16 Georgia Tech 38–41; won at North Carolina 24–10; lost vs. Maryland 30–35; lost at Virginia Tech 13–38; lost vs. No. 10 Tennessee 22–23+59−25Won 59–10 at Kansas+49KansasWon 20–7 vs. No. 9 Clemson+13No. 9 ClemsonWon 56–14 vs. Navy+42NavyWon 59–0 at Duke+59DukeWon 63–35 vs. William & Mary+28William & MaryWon 31–0 vs. NC State+31NC StateWon 49–14 at Wake Forest+35Wake ForestLost 38–41 vs. No. 16 Georgia Tech-3No. 16 Georgia TechWon 24–10 at North Carolina+14North CarolinaLost 30–35 vs. Maryland-5MarylandLost 13–38 at Virginia Tech-25Virginia TechLost 22–23 vs. No. 10 Tennessee-1No. 10 Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atKansasW 59–⁠1071%
Sep 8vs9ClemsonW 20–⁠749%
Sep 15vsNavyW 56–⁠1484%
Sep 22atDukeW 59–⁠058%
Sep 29vsWilliam & MaryW 63–⁠3592%
Oct 13vsNC StateW 31–⁠076%
Oct 20atWake ForestW 49–⁠1481%
Nov 3vs16Georgia TechL 38–⁠4169%
Nov 10atNorth CarolinaW 24–⁠1074%
Nov 17vsMarylandL 30–⁠3584%
Nov 24atVirginia TechL 13–⁠3865%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs10TennesseeSugar BowlL 22–⁠2339%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tennessee 23–⁠22 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 23 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 2: 14
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 4
  7. Wk 7: 2
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 11
  12. Wk 12: 8
  13. Wk 13: 17
  14. Final: 23

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.

Heisman voteShawn Moore, fourth

Led the nationShawn Moore: passer rating (160.7); Nikki Fisher: yards per carry (7.0)

Consensus All-AmericanHerman Moore, WR

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 23 peak No. 1
Points
464–⁠227
Coach
George Welsh
Elo
1624 +31 this season
SP+ rating
21.4 No. 13 of 104; offense No. 9, defense No. 32
SRS
20.6 No. 8 of 107 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Gary Tranquill
Defensive coordinator
Frank Spaziani
Captains
Ron Carey, Joe Hall and Shawn Moore
Offense
I formation
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1991

The 1991 draft
Rd 1Herman Moore WRDetroit Lions
Rd 4Tony Covington DBTampa Bay Buccaneers

All-ACC

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 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia Tech6–⁠0–⁠111–⁠0–⁠12
Clemson5–⁠210–⁠29
Virginia5–⁠28–⁠423
Maryland4–⁠36–⁠5–⁠1
North Carolina3–⁠3–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
NC State3–⁠47–⁠5
Duke1–⁠64–⁠7
Wake Forest0–⁠73–⁠8

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