๐Ÿˆ The 1990 college football season

The champion and its path, the poll race week by week, the honours, the best games and every conference table.

Source: Citizen of Nowhere college football database ยท 10 conferences ยท 19 bowls
Jump to any season1869โ€“2026
1990season

1990 national champion

Named by the selectors, with the road it took.

National champion, shared
11-1-1Final AP #1AP
Also named champion
11-0-1Final AP #2UPI
HeismanTy DetmerBYU

The path11-1-1

  1. Aug 26vs
    #8Tennessee
    T31-31
    Pigskin Classic
  2. Sep 6vs
    Stanford
    W21-17
  3. Sep 15at
    #21Illinois
    L22-23
  4. Sep 22at
    #22Texas
    W29-22
  5. Sep 29vs
    #12Washington
    W20-14
  6. Oct 6at
    Missouri
    W33-31
  7. Oct 13vs
    Iowa State
    W28-12
  8. Oct 20at
    Kansas
    W41-10
  9. Oct 27vs
    #22Oklahoma
    W32-23
  10. Nov 3at
    #3Nebraska
    W27-12
  11. Nov 10vs
    Oklahoma State
    W41-22
  12. Nov 17vs
    Kansas State
    W64-3
  13. Jan 1vs
    #5Notre Dame
    W10-9
    Orange Bowl

The 1990 major bowls

No title game this year. The big bowls of the season, by date.

The 1990 poll race

Rank by poll week, 1 at the top, or Elo by week. A poll line breaks where a team was unranked.

How this is measured
The final top five and the champion are drawn in team colours; everyone else is muted until you tap a line or pick a team. The grid under a poll chart has the same ranks, team by week, so a rank can be read as a number as well as a height. Where the College Football Playoff or BCS ranking also ran, switch between it and the AP poll. The Elo view plots each team's rating on the poll dates for the teams that finished in the Elo top 15 or were ranked at any point, and its Show filter works the same way.
ColoradoGeorgia TechMiami (FL)Florida StateWashington41 teams ranked at some point ยท tap or drag for that week ยท tap a line to lock it
  • Regular season ends
  • Bowl season

Tap or drag on the chart to read a team's rank in any week.

AP rank, team by week

TeamAug19Sep4111724Oct19152329Nov6122026Dec4Jan2final
Colorado5692020121414109421111
Georgia Tech2318111616743222
Miami (FL)111091093288532343
Florida State43322210712121298864
Washington20202221121713772109985
Notre Dame2211118632117756
Michigan654763110202019161513127
Tennessee8876565311119141412108
Clemson109161719161522191818171614149
Houston242418141313129663121211910
Penn State21212421181110711
Texas232219131414765312
Florida241917109171415106561113
Louisville25222020171814
Texas A&M131212121119202515
Michigan State23221924221824242324232216
Oklahoma222314119741622222017
Iowa2522151361313181718
Auburn33233565241524232019
USC9765181516152121231918212120
Mississippi24181717161521151521
BYU161654411131291085441322
Virginia1514107421111181723
Nebraska71088887443131110191924
Illinois11112115141311855172222161625
Southern Mississippi25252423
Ohio State17181716152021192524
Alabama121325
Oregon2219252220
Wyoming2321181925
Arizona201816212323
TCU24
Indiana2220
Washington State17
Arkansas141515132321
Fresno State2424
Arizona State25232125
South Carolina25
Pittsburgh18171325
West Virginia252511
UCLA1919

Tap a rank to read it and highlight that team on the chart above.

Movers

AP rank on Aug 19 against the final AP rank. NR is not ranked.

Risers

Fallers

1990 final polls

The last ranking of the season in each poll.

1990 final pollsAP, Coaches, Elo

AP and Coaches

Jan 2 final
APTeamCRec
1211-1-1
2111-0-1
3310-2
4410-2
5510-2
669-3
789-3
879-2-2
9910-2
1010-1
11109-3
121110-2
139-2
141210-1-1
15139-3-1
16148-3-1
178-3
18168-4
19198-3-1
20228-4-1
21239-3
221710-3
23158-4
24179-3
25248-4
Coaches only
20
21
25

Elo top 25

rating, z
1Miami (FL)2008 ยท z +2.2
2Florida State1998 ยท z +2.1
3Colorado1948 ยท z +1.9
4Notre Dame1941 ยท z +1.9
5Michigan1911 ยท z +1.8
6Washington1880 ยท z +1.6
7Clemson1862 ยท z +1.5
8Georgia Tech1859 ยท z +1.5
9Penn State1849 ยท z +1.5
10Tennessee1841 ยท z +1.4
11Florida1819 ยท z +1.4
12Houston1806 ยท z +1.3
13Oklahoma1799 ยท z +1.3
14Texas A&M1790 ยท z +1.2
15Texas1777 ยท z +1.2
16USC1768 ยท z +1.1
17Michigan State1767 ยท z +1.1
18Auburn1761 ยท z +1.1
19Syracuse1748 ยท z +1.1
20Louisville1743 ยท z +1.0
21Alabama1723 ยท z +0.9
22Mississippi1711 ยท z +0.9
23Nebraska1704 ยท z +0.9
24California1658 ยท z +0.7
25Oregon1654 ยท z +0.7

APAP championCCoaches champion

The 1990 honours

The Heisman vote and the major awards side by side, then the All-Americans.

The 1990 honoursHeisman: Ty Detmer

Heisman Trophy voting

1
Ty Detmer
QB ยท BYU
1,482
points
2
Raghib Ismail
WR ยท Notre Dame
1,177
points
3
Eric Bieniemy
RB ยท Colorado
798
points
4
Shawn Moore
QB ยท Virginia
465
points

Major awards

Bobby Ross
AFCA Coach of the Year Award ยท Coach ยท Georgia Tech
Ty Detmer
Davey O'Brien Award ยท QB ยท BYU
Alfred Williams
Dick Butkus Award ยท LB ยท Colorado
Greg Lewis
Doak Walker Award ยท RB ยท Washington
Darryll Lewis
Jim Thorpe Award ยท DB ยท Arizona
Show all 10 awards
Craig Erickson
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ยท QB ยท Miami (FL)
Ty Detmer
Maxwell Award ยท QB ยท BYU
Russell Maryland
Outland Trophy ยท DT ยท Miami (FL)
Chris Zorich
Vince Lombardi/Rotary Award ยท NT ยท Notre Dame
Raghib Ismail
Walter Camp Award ยท RB/WR ยท Notre Dame

Consensus All-Americans

A star marks a unanimous selection.

QB
RB
WR
Show all 11 positions
TE
  • Chris Smithโ˜… unanimousBYU
OL
C
DL
LB
DB
P
PK
  • Philip Doyleโ˜… unanimousAlabama

The best games of 1990

The ten best games of the season by Game Score. Switch to the Elo score for a second opinion.

How this is measured
Game score is the college football workbook's own rating of how good a game was; it weighs a lot more than the margin. The Elo score is a second view built from the ratings alone: the two teams' average pre-game Elo, plus stakes (150 for the national championship game, 90 for a playoff game or a major bowl, 40 for another bowl or a conference title game, 15 for a rivalry), plus up to 60 for a close finish and 15 for overtime. The Elo view takes its own top ten from every game between major teams. Sort by any column.
The best games of 199010 games
Rank by
1
10-9 ยท Orange Bowl ยท 1991-01-01 ยท Elo score 2092
0.99
game score
2
#3Auburn tied #5Tennessee
26-26 ยท 1990-09-29 ยท Elo score 1917
0.78
game score
3
41-38 ยท 1990-11-03 ยท Elo score 1838
0.78
game score
4
24-17 ยท Blockbuster Bowl ยท 1990-12-28 ยท Elo score 2004
0.73
game score
5
28-24 ยท 1990-09-15 ยท Elo score 1951
0.72
game score
6
#4Miami (FL) beat #3Texas
46-3 ยท Cotton Bowl ยท 1991-01-01 ยท Elo score 1982
0.70
game score
7
28-27 ยท 1990-12-01 ยท Elo score 1840
0.67
game score
8
27-12 ยท 1990-11-03 ยท Elo score 1889
0.62
game score
9
24-21 ยท 1990-11-17 ยท Elo score 1953
0.62
game score
10
20-17 ยท 1990-10-20 ยท Elo score 1968
0.61
game score

Upsets of 1990

The results the ratings gave the winner the least chance of, lowest first.

How this is measured
Win chance is the winner's pre-game probability from the site's college football Elo ratings, home field included, so 3% means the winner would be expected to win about one time in thirty. Games against lower-level opponents count and carry a tag for the level (FCS, Division II and so on). Where the AP poll had ranks, the rank line is shown as context. Elo gap is the loser's pre-game rating minus the winner's.
Upsets of 199010 upsets
1
36-31 ยท 1990-10-06 ยท Unranked over #1
3.2%
win chance
2
38-35 ยท 1990-10-20
3.2%
win chance
3
35-21 ยท 1990-10-13 ยท Unranked over #21
5.6%
win chance
4
14-10 ยท 1990-11-10
6.9%
win chance
5
26-24 ยท 1990-11-10
7.3%
win chance
6
25-22 ยท 1990-11-10 ยท Unranked over #2
7.8%
win chance
7
22-15 ยท 1990-09-01
8.0%
win chance
8
35-30 ยท 1990-11-17 ยท Unranked over #8
9.1%
win chance
9
30-25 ยท 1990-09-29 ยท Unranked over #16
9.7%
win chance
10
24-21 ยท 1990-09-22
11%
win chance

1990 standings by conference

Every conference at once: conference and overall record, and the final AP rank. A star marks the conference champion.

1990 standings by conference10 groups

Atlantic Coast

8 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Georgia Techโ˜… conference champion6-0-111-0-1#2
2Clemson5-210-2#9
3Virginia5-28-4#23
4Maryland4-36-5-1
5North Carolina3-3-16-4-1
6North Carolina State3-47-5
7Duke1-64-7
8Wake Forest0-73-8

Big Eight

8 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Coloradoโ˜… conference champion7-011-1-1#1
2Nebraska5-29-3#24
3Oklahoma5-28-3#17
4Iowa State2-4-14-6-1
5Kansas2-4-13-7-1
6Kansas State2-55-6
7Missouri2-54-7
8Oklahoma State2-54-7

Big Ten

10 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Michiganโ˜… conference champion6-29-3#7
2Michigan Stateโ˜… conference champion6-28-3-1#16
3Illinoisโ˜… conference champion6-28-4#25
4Iowaโ˜… conference champion6-28-4#18
5Ohio State5-2-17-4-1
6Minnesota5-36-5
7Indiana3-4-16-5-1
8Northwestern1-72-9
9Purdue1-72-9
10Wisconsin0-81-10

Big West

8 teams
#TeamConfAll
1San Jose Stateโ˜… conference champion7-09-2-1
2Fresno State5-1-18-2-1
3Utah State5-1-15-5-1
4Long Beach State4-36-5
5UNLV3-44-7
6Pacific2-54-7
7New Mexico State1-61-10
8CSU-Fullerton0-71-11

Mid-American

9 teams
#TeamConfAll
1Toledoโ˜… conference champion7-19-2
2Central Michiganโ˜… conference champion7-18-3-1
3Ball State5-37-4
4Western Michigan5-37-4
5Miami (OH)4-3-15-5-1
6Bowling Green2-4-23-5-2
7Eastern Michigan2-62-9
8Kent State2-62-9
9Ohio0-7-11-9-1

Pacific-10

10 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Washingtonโ˜… conference champion7-110-2#5
2USC5-2-18-4-1#20
3Oregon4-38-4
4California4-3-17-4-1
5Arizona5-47-5
6Stanford4-45-6
7UCLA4-45-6
8Arizona State2-54-7
9Washington State2-63-8
10Oregon State1-61-10

Southeastern

10 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Florida6-19-2#13
2Tennesseeโ˜… conference champion5-1-19-2-2#8
3Mississippi5-29-3#21
4Alabama5-27-5
5Auburn4-2-18-3-1#19
6Kentucky3-44-7
7LSU2-55-6
8Georgia2-54-7
9Mississippi State1-65-6
10Vanderbilt1-61-10

Southwest

9 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Texasโ˜… conference champion8-010-2#12
2Houston7-110-1#10
3Texas A&M5-2-19-3-1#15
4Baylor5-2-16-4-1
5Rice3-55-6
6TCU3-55-6
7Texas Tech3-54-7
8Arkansas1-73-8
9SMU0-81-10

Western Athletic

9 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1BYUโ˜… conference champion7-110-3#22
2Colorado State6-19-4
3San Diego State5-26-5
4Wyoming5-39-4
5Hawaii4-47-5
6Air Force3-47-5
7Utah2-64-7
8New Mexico1-62-10
9UTEP1-73-8

Independent

26 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Louisville-10-1-1#14
2Florida State-10-2#4
3Miami (FL)-10-2#3
4Notre Dame-9-3#6
5Penn State-9-3#11
6Louisiana Tech-8-3-1
7Southern Mississippi-8-4
8Temple-7-4
9Syracuse-7-4-2
10Army-6-5
11Northern Illinois-6-5
12South Carolina-6-5
13Virginia Tech-6-5
14East Carolina-5-6
15Navy-5-6
16SW Louisiana-5-6
17Memphis State-4-6-1
18Boston College-4-7
19Tulane-4-7
20West Virginia-4-7
21Akron-3-7-1
22Arkansas State-3-7-1
23Pittsburgh-3-7-1
24Rutgers-3-8
25Tulsa-3-8
26Cincinnati-1-10

1990 bowls

One line per game, latest first. A tag marks the playoff and the other major bowls.

1990 bowls19 bowls
Jan 1#2Georgia Tech45#19Nebraska21Citrus BowlMajor
Jan 1#4Miami (FL)46#3Texas3Cotton BowlMajor
Jan 1#18Louisville34#25Alabama7Fiesta BowlMajor
Jan 1#12Michigan35#15Mississippi3Gator Bowl
Jan 1#14Clemson30#16Illinois0Hall of Fame Bowl
Jan 1#1Colorado10#5Notre Dame9Orange BowlMajor
Jan 1#8Washington46#17Iowa34Rose BowlMajor
Jan 1#10Tennessee23Virginia22Sugar BowlMajor
Dec 31California17Wyoming15Copper Bowl
Dec 31#22Michigan State17#21USC16John Hancock Bowl
Dec 29Colorado State32Oregon31Freedom Bowl
Dec 29Texas A&M65#13BYU14Holiday Bowl
Dec 29Auburn27Indiana23Peach Bowl
Dec 28North Carolina State31#23Southern Mississippi27All-American Bowl
Dec 28#6Florida State24#7Penn State17Blockbuster Bowl
Show all 19 bowls
Dec 27Air Force23#24Ohio State11Liberty Bowl
Dec 25Syracuse28Arizona0Aloha Bowl
Dec 15Louisiana Tech34Maryland34Independence Bowl (tie)
Dec 8San Jose State48Central Michigan24California Bowl

Where these numbers come from

Enough to disbelieve this page on purpose rather than by accident.

Champions, polls, standings, bowls, honours and games are read from the Citizen of Nowhere college football database, built from its own workbook one season at a time. Team colours and crests are the current programsโ€™, so a school is drawn the way it looks today even where it played under another name.

The AP poll begins in 1936, so earlier seasons have no poll race and no final poll, but they do have an Elo race, and their champions are those the selectors named. Before 1992 there was no title game, so those seasons list the major bowls instead; from 1992 the title game is shown with the other major bowls, and from 2014 the playoff bracket. Where the database has no entry for a section, the section is left out rather than shown empty.

Elo ratings, the upsets and the best games come from the siteโ€™s college football Elo, which rates every game since 1869 and counts games against lower-level opponents. Each seasonโ€™s ratings are shown on a scale where the average major team ends the season at 1500; z is the distance from that average in standard deviations.