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1990 college football season

1990 Colorado-Nebraska: The Buffaloes’ 4th Quarter Turnabout

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1989 had marked a shift in the power structure of the old Big Eight. Colorado replaced Oklahoma as the foil for Nebraska in a conference that always seemed to be top-heavy with two really good teams. The Buffaloes beat the Cornhuskers in ’89 and went to the Orange Bowl ranked #1 before a loss to Notre Dame ended their title hopes. The 1990 Colorado-Nebraska battle was another November matchup between teams looking to win their league and keep national championship dreams alive.

In a normal year, Colorado’s national hopes would have already been gone. They tied Tennessee and lost a one-point game to Illinois in September. The Buffs won a controversial game at Missouri in October thanks to an officiating blunder that gave Colorado five downs to score the game-winning touchdown. But 1990 was no ordinary year in college football and the Buffs were undefeated within the Big Eight when they came to Lincoln on November 3.

Nebraska was undefeated and ranked #3. Virginia and Notre Dame held the top two spots in the polls. The Big Eight champ was contractually bound to the Orange Bowl, while the ACC champ was bound to the Citrus (today’s Capital One Bowl), but the Cornhuskers had every reason to believe that if they could win out, a title shot on New Year’s Day would be theirs.

On a windy and rainy day in Memorial Stadium, Nebraska seemed in control for three quarters. Colorado had an early mishap when their great running back, Eric Bienemy, fumbled on the Cornhusker 3-yard line. The Cornhuskers led 12-0 late in the third quarter. Bienemy had been held to 62 yards. Not a bad showing with a quarter-plus to play, but not when the run-heavy Buffalo offense needed to win a game like this.

Then the stunning turnabout came. A Nebraska team that always prided itself on physical play was simply whipped in the trenches by the Buffs. Bienemy added 75 more rushing yards to his total. He scored four touchdowns in the final quarter alone. Colorado won 27-12.

The pain for Nebraska got worse when Virginia was upset by Georgia Tech that same day. Colorado, ranked #9 coming into this game, vaulted to #4 and put themselves back in the national title mix.

Nebraska ended the season on a down note. They lost at Oklahoma and then went to the Citrus Bowl and were hammered by Georgia Tech.

As for Colorado? They returned to the Orange Bowl and got a rematch with Notre Dame. This time, the Buffs won and they shared the national title with the Yellow Jackets.

The Rose Bowl Run Of 1990 Iowa Football

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The 1980s had been good to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Hayden Fry took the program to the Rose Bowl in 1981 and 1985 and went to eight bowls overall in a nine-year stretch. But 1989 had been the outlier year, when the Hawkeyes struggled to a 5-6 finish. The program needed a comeback season and the 1990 Iowa football team provided it, reaching the third Rose Bowl of Fry’s tenure.

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Matt Rodgers was the best quarterback in the Big Ten and he led an offense that averaged over 35ppg, ranking 13th in the nation. The backfield was a two-pronged attack, with 1,000-yard rusher Nick Bell and Tony Stewart, who ran for 844 more.

The defense wasn’t quite as good, ranking 57th in the country, but still had noteworthy talent. Merton Hanks was an All-Conference defensive back and future Pro Bowl player with the San Francisco 49ers. Melvin Foster was one of the Big Ten’s top linebackers, and senior linebacker John Derby provided a stable veteran presence inside.

Iowa was unranked to start the year and the 2-1 record in non-conference did nothing to change minds. The wins over Cincinnati and Iowa State were nothing special, the blowout loss at Miami nothing to be alarmed over. It was when Big Ten games started on the first weekend of October that the Hawkeyes indicated this team might be special.

Michigan State was ranked #18 in the country when Iowa went to East Lansing and pulled out a 12-7 win. Two weeks later they were back in the state, visiting Ann Arbor. Rodgers went 27/37 for 276 yards and saved the best for last, an 85-yard drive that pulled out a 24-23 upset over Michigan. Iowa was 3-0 in the Big Ten with two big road wins over contenders.

By November 3, Iowa and Illinois were both 4-0 and had a two-game lead on the rest of the conference. They were going head-to-head in Champaign with the inside track to the Big Ten title on the line. The Illini were ranked fifth in the country and had aspirations that could reach beyond Pasadena.

The Hawkeyes turned the tables. Illinois fumbled at midfield on their first possession and Bell promptly rumbled 44 yards for a touchdown. It was the start of a day where Bell would roll up 178 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Iowa had a shocking 28-0 lead by the early second quarter. They scored on a halfback option pass by Stewart and off a fake field goal. The final was 54-28.

Iowa moved up to #6 nationally and in a chaotic year for college football, they now had national hopes. Those ended a week later at home against Ohio State when the defensive shortcomings caught up with the Hawkeyes. They led 26-14 in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes drove into scoring range three times and twice scored touchdowns, the final one a three-yard TD pass with a second to play. Iowa lost 27-26.

The Hawkeyes beat Purdue the following week and entered the final week of the season with a half-game lead on Ohio State. The Buckeyes lost at Michigan and by the time Iowa’s game at Minnesota was in the second quarter, the Hawkeyes knew they were Rose Bowl-bound. They lost 31-24 to a pretty good Gophers team. The loss might not have denied them the Pasadena trip, but it did cost Iowa an outright Big Ten title. They instead shared the crown with Michigan, Michigan State and Illinois.

Iowa had lost both of their previous Rose Bowls under Fry and both of them decisively. The third time did not prove to be the charm. They faced eighth-ranked Washington and the 46-34 loss was not as close as the final score makes it appear.

Even with the Rose Bowl loss, even with the stumbling to the finish line, 1990 was still a fine comeback season for Iowa football. It re-established momentum for Fry and he made five bowl games in the next eight years before retiring at the end of the 1998 season.

1990 Michigan Football: The Post-Schembecler Era Begins

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The 1990 Michigan football team marked the dawn of a new era in the long history of the proud program. After the last two decades in charge, the legendary Bo Schembecler stepped aside and offensive coordinator Gary Moeller was elevated.

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Coming off back-to-back Rose Bowl trips, Michigan football was at its peak. It took longer than the faithful would have liked in 1990 to get started, but Moeller eventually got the Wolverines back to championship level.

The Michigan offense was well-balanced and explosive. Desmond Howard had a 1,000-yard receiving year and set the stage for his Heisman run of 1991. Jon Vaughn rushed for over 1,300 yards and was first-team All-Big Ten. Ricky Powers and Jarrod Bunch were reliable changes of pace in the backfield, combining for over 1,200 yards. And the traditionally powerful Wolverine offensive line was led by All-Conference picks in Dean Dingman, Tom Dohring and Greg Skrepenak.

Quarterback was never considered a strength in the Michigan program, and in the world of 1990, Elvis Grbac was as good as it got for the maize-and-blue. Grbac’s stats of 58% completions, 7.2 yards-per-attempt and 21-10 TD/INT ratio were good by the standards of the time.

The defense wasn’t quite as deep in individual names, but they still had an All-American safety in Tripp Welborne and Lance Dottin picked off five passes. And collectively, the defense was good enough to rank 18th in the nation in points allowed.

A prime-time visit to Notre Dame for the opener set the tone for the season’s first half. Michigan coughed up a 24-14 lead in the fourth quarter and lost 28-24. The Wolverines righted the ship with wins over UCLA, Maryland and Wisconsin and in the historically chaotic season that was 1990, managed to get to the top of the polls by mid-October with one loss.

More heartbreak followed. Trailing 28-21 at Michigan State, the Wolverines drove for a late touchdown and the pre-overtime era of college football, went for two to win it. Howard ran a slant-in and was open, but stumbled. Michigan fans insist he was held and the bad blood still lingers over this game today.

One week later, Iowa got their first win in Ann Arbor since 1981, driving 85 yards late in the game for a 24-23 win. Michigan was 3-3 and while they were only three plays from 6-0, it didn’t stop the wolves from howling at Moeller’s door when Michigan came to Indiana on the final weekend of October.

The Hoosiers were a consistent bowl team in this era and well-coached under Bill Mallory. The Wolverines dismantled them 45-19 and found their footing for the stretch run. They blew out a bad Purdue team and then came up with big wins over Illinois and Minnesota, both of whom were contending in a packed Big Ten race.

A third straight Rose Bowl appearance wasn’t on the table when Michigan went to Columbus for the season-ending battle with Ohio State. But in the event of an Iowa loss, a Wolverine win would achieve the parlay of denying the Buckeyes a trip to Pasadena and also secure at least a piece of the league championship for themselves.

Michigan and Ohio State were locked in a 13-13 tie with 1:47 left. A tie did the Buckeyes no good, so they went for it on their own 29-yard line. Michigan’s defense made the stop and they got a field goal on the last play to win it. Later in the day, Iowa fell at Minnesota. The Big Ten race ended up with four teams tied for first and while it was Iowa that got the Rose Bowl trip, Michigan still got a trophy.

They were also up to #12 in the polls and met up with 15th-ranked Ole Miss in the Hall of Fame Bowl (today’s Outback Bowl). Grbac hit Howard with a 63-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and tossed a seven-yard TD pass to Bunch in the second quarter. It was 14-3 at half and the Wolverines blew it open in the third quarter, en route to a 35-3 win and a final ranking of #7.

The three losses and not making the Rose Bowl were a disappointment in the moment, but the importance of the quad-championship in the Big Ten grew in the coming years. Michigan reasserted themselves and won outright league titles in 1991 and 1992. The late surge of 1990 Michigan football ensured that this era would go into the history books with five consecutive championship seasons in the Big Ten. And Moeller had the program in good hands.

Notre Dame-Miami: 1990’s Final Catholic Vs. Convicts War

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The Miami-Notre Dame rivalry had defined college football for the past two seasons, settling the national championship in both 1988 and 1989. But the bad blood emanating from the two schools persuaded administrators on both sides to drop the series.

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The bad blood even spilled into American culture, with a “Catholics vs. Convicts” paradigm, named after a T-shirt sold on the Notre Dame campus prior to the 1988 game and meant to further the White Hats vs. Black Hats image the two teams had—an image, that like most stereotypes wasn’t accurate on either side, but in which neither side—including black-hatted Miami—backed away from.

There was still one “Final War” to play and it would be on October 20, 1990 in South Bend. Notre Dame and Miami weren’t running away from the rest of country—in fact, neither would win the national championship. By October, each had lost a game. But when they met on the field, both were still alive in the title hunt and even had they not, the grudge match alone would have had the nation tuned in.

Notre Dame led 22-20 with a little more than six minutes to play. With the ball on the Miami 21-yard-line, Irish quarterback Rick Mirer founding running back Rodney Culver out of the backfield, and Culver moved up the sideline for a clinching touchdown in the 29-20 win.

The Irish would eventually get back up to #1 in the polls, but give it away with a home loss to Penn State where Notre Dame let a lead get away. They lost a heartbreaker in the Orange Bowl, when explosive punt returner Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, appeared to beat Colorado with a 92-yard punt return as his team trailed 10-9.

But the play was called back on a clip and Notre Dame lost for the third time, a number that was unacceptably high, given the standards Lou Holtz established with the program.

Miami did not lose again and finished the year ranked #3 in the final polls, but their season ended on a note that underscored what many believed about their football program and fit the black-hat imagery.

The Hurricanes went to the Cotton Bowl, ranked #4 at the time and meeting #3 Texas. The top two teams in the polls—Colorado and Georgia Tech—were in separate bowls, so if both somehow lost, it would open the door to winner of this game to be national champion.

While neither of the top teams would lose, if we backtrack to New Year’s morning, neither the Buffaloes or Yellow Jackets were highly regarded, and the notion that they might lose to Notre Dame and Nebraska respectively, was hardly out of the question. In short, Miami-Texas was a big game.

Instead, game would be a travesty. Miami dominated every which way and won 46-3. But they also drew repeated taunting penalties and piled up over 200 yards of yellow flags, heavily on unsportsmanlike conduct calls. It brought down a lot of heat on the Hurricane program.

To the ‘Canes supporters, it was people overreacting to kids having fun. To critics, it was another case of kids being apologized for solely because they were good football players and being allowed to act in a way that would be permitted of no other college student.

The Miami and Notre Dame football programs might not be playing each other anymore—they wouldn’t meet again in the regular season until 2012—but the Catholics vs. Convicts cultural divide raged on.

A Split Championship Ends A Crazy & Chaotic 1990 College Football Season

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The 1990 college football season started with defending national champion Miami being upset by BYU and its soon-to-be Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Ty Detmer. That should have told us we were headed for a year that would be on the bizarre side. The BYU-Miami game unleashed a year of upsets and upheaval not seen since the seminal year of 1981.

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Notre Dame moved to the top of the polls with an exciting 28-24 win over Michigan, but the Irish were upset in October by what was then a lowly Stanford team—in South Bend, no less. The Wolverines made it to the top of the polls—while it’s not unusual for a one-loss team to find its way back to the top, it’s certainly unusual for the ascendancy to take place by October. Michigan couldn’t cash in though, and lost to Michigan State.

The up-and-down year continued, and just like happened with the 1981 Clemson Tigers, it was an ACC team quietly moving its way up through the wreckage. Virginia got the top of the polls behind quarterback Shawn Moore. They needed only to defeat Georgia Tech at home.

Georgia Tech was coached by Bobby Ross, who had previously turned Maryland into an ACC power and would take the San Diego Chargers to their first (and thus far only) Super Bowl four years down the line. Ross’ Yellow Jackets had one tie, but no one had beaten them. And befitting this crazy year, Tech upset Virginia 41-38, setting off another round of chaos.

Notre Dame climbed back to #1, but blew a fourth-quarter lead at home against Penn State and lost 24-21. In this completely messed up year, the Colorado Buffaloes made their way to the top. Colorado had not only lost a game, but tied one as well, and had a disputed victory over Missouri that came about only because they were accidentally given a fifth down on their game-winning drive. In spite of this, they were the team that reached the end of the regular season ranked #1 in the country.

For the second year in a row Colorado had to play Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. Georgia Tech was #2 and had gave pollsters something to think about, with a 45-21 thrashing of Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl in the early portion of New Year’s Day. Georgia Tech might have a tie, but they were the nation’s only undefeated team.

Even so, when the Buffs clinging to a 10-9 lead late in the fourth quarter of that night’s Orange Bowl, it looked like Tech was out of luck.

Then Colorado decided to risk punting the ball to Notre Dame’s explosive return man Raghib Ismail. “The Rocket”, as he was known, took the ball on his own eight-yard-line and took it to the house, with 43 seconds left to play. Except for the fact that a clip was called and the touchdown came back. Colorado’s defense held and the game ended 10-9.

As it turned out, Ismail’s nullified heroics still mattered. While Colorado won the writers’ poll, Georgia Tech, by a single point, scraped out a share of the national title in the coaches’ poll. Is it too much to assume that one vote might have swung based on the called-back Notre Dame play? Especially given that the call was seen in some quarters as being ticky-tack?(I was rooting for Notre Dame, but felt that while the call was close, it was probably a clip and given the speed of Ismail, had to be flagged, even at that point in the game).

Either way, a strange finish and a split national title seemed an appropriate way to end a chaotic 1990 college football season.

1990 Sports: NFL Upsets & College Football Chaos

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The San Francisco 49ers looked destined to win a third straight Super Bowl, an unprecedented achievement. Or, rather than destined, the Niners looked too good to be stopped. The New York Giants got in the way.

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Bill Parcells took his Giants’ team west for the 1990 NFC Championship Game and in a dramatic finish, got a 15-13 win without scoring a touchdown and winning on a last-second field goal. The three-peat bid was denied and still waits for the first team to pull off the feat.
Parcells’ team then matched up with the Buffalo Bills, who had an explosive offense and even the bad weather in their home city hadn’t stopped the Bills from dropping 95 points in two playoff wins. Buffalo was favored by more than a touchdown. Once again, New York pulled a rabbit out of their hat, this time watching an opponent miss a last-play field goal attempt to win or lose.
Read more about the 1990 New York Giants
College football didn’t have a heavy favorite the way the NFL did with the 49ers, but the collegiate year was even more chaotic. Teams got multiple chances at being #1 and a crazy New Year’s Night ended up with a disputed penalty call and a split national championship.
The ending might have been bizarre, but the ride was great, and the college football season was marked by the last installment of the great Notre Dame-Miami rivalry, with both schools involved in the national title discussion all year long. Their final game was a good one and the aftermath showed that the bad blood between the fan bases wasn’t going away just because the games were
That final Notre Dame-Miami game took place on the last night of the World Series. In a year where the NFL season was marked by consecutive big upsets and where the college landscape went into complete upheaval, can you blame baseball for wanting to get in on the upset fun? The Oakland A’s came into the 1990 World Series a heavy favorite to win a repeat title, and indeed the Fall Classic ended up in a sweep…only it was the Cincinnati Reds who won in four straight.
Read more about the 1990 college football season
Read more about the last Notre Dame-Miami rivalry battle
Read more about the 1990 World Series
The Edmonton Oilers had traded Wayne Gretzky after a Stanley Cup run in 1988 and a coaching change followed the 1989 season. The Oilers still had a lot of the same cast from the team that won four Cups in six years, but the changes were significant. Edmonton’s remaining players, starting with team leader Mark Messier, showed what they were made of when they won Cup—the fifth for the dynasty, but the first without Wayne.
In the NBA, the Detroit Pistons were another team with something to prove, but for different reasons. The Pistons, like the Oilers were a recent champion—in this case, the defending NBA champ. But Detroit wasn’t seen in the same light as their predecessors, Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers or Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics. Nor are the “Bad Boy Pistons” seen in the same light as their successor, Michael Jordan’s Bulls.
But the Pistons did show they weren’t a flash in the pan, not when they eliminated Chicago for the second straight year and not when they won a second straight NBA title by winning three straight road games in Portland.
Read more about the 1990 Edmonton Oilers
Read more about the 1990 Detroit Pistons
The NCAA Tournament had some great moments along the way—notably the East Regional, where UConn first won a Sweet 16 game on a last-second shot and then lost the regional final when the same was done to them. It was a heady finish to UConn’s first year as a serious contender for a national title.
But there was no drama in the championship game, only the celebration of greatness. UNLV won the first national title for head coach Jerry Tarkanian and did it by destroying Duke, 103-73.
Read more about 1990 UNLV basketball
Read more about 1990 UConn & The East Regional Drama
A footnote to the year that was 1990 sports was that two Rustbelt cities saw their teams make a big impact, and that was the Buffalo Bills reaching the Super Bowl and the Pittsburgh Pirates reaching the National League Championship Series. It looked like both teams were here to stay for a while as contenders, and that’s exactly what happened.
But unfortunately, neither would get the past level reached in 1990, as the Bills would continue to win AFC Championships (a record four straight), yet continue to lose in the Super Bowl. And the Pirates reached three consecutive NLCS’, and lost all three, each one more painful than the one that became before it.