1990 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams	106[1]
Preseason AP No. 1	Miami (FL)[2]
Postseason
Duration	December 8, 1990 – January 1, 1991
Bowl games	19
AP Poll No. 1	Colorado
Coaches Poll No. 1	Georgia Tech
Heisman Trophy	Ty Detmer (quarterback,BYU)
Champion(s)	Georgia Tech (Coaches)
Division I-A football seasons
← 1989 1991 →

The1990 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a split national championship and the ensuing controversy helped lead to the creation of theBowl Coalition, a precursor to theBowl Championship Series. The national title was split between theColorado Buffaloes and theGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Buffaloes (11–1–1) took theAP poll while the Yellow Jackets (11–0–1) took the UPICoaches poll by one vote over Colorado, 847 to 846. During the season Colorado had a particularly controversial victory over Missouri in what would later be known as the"Fifth Down Game". It has long been speculated thatTom Osborne changed his first-place vote from Colorado to Georgia Tech, which would be the only time a coach changed his vote from the pre-bowl #1 after that #1 team won their bowl game. Unlike several seasons to come in the 1990s, the two teams that became split national champions could have actually met in a 1 vs. 2 bowl game. Georgia Tech's ACC champion status did not preclude them from taking their #2 ranking to the Orange Bowl to face the automatic Big-8 champion in #1 Colorado for a decisive title game. But the Orange Bowl committee wanted Notre Dame instead of Georgia Tech as the Buffaloes' opponent, because Notre Dame had a larger fan base and would accrue more money and better TV ratings than the Yellow Jackets would have.

• Approved reducing the width of the goal posts from 23 feet 9 inches to 18 feet 6 inches starting in1991.
• Mandated visible 25-second clocks at each end zone.
• Allowed the defense to advance fumbles that occur beyond the line of scrimmage. Previously, fumbles could only be advanced if they were caught in the air.

New Year's Day Bowls:

• Orange Bowl: No. 1Colorado 10, No. 5Notre Dame 9
• Florida Citrus Bowl: No. 2Georgia Tech 45, No. 19Nebraska 21
• Cotton Bowl: No. 4Miami (FL) 46, No. 3Texas 3
• Rose Bowl: No. 8Washington 46, No. 17Iowa 34
• Sugar Bowl: No. 10Tennessee 23,Virginia 22
• Gator Bowl: No. 12Michigan 35, No. 15Mississippi 3
• Hall of Fame Bowl: No. 14Clemson 30, No. 16Illinois 0
• Fiesta Bowl: No. 18Louisville 34, No. 25Alabama 7

Other Bowls:

• John Hancock Bowl: No. 22Michigan St. 17, No. 21USC 16
• Copper Bowl:California 17,Wyoming 15
• Holiday Bowl:Texas A&M 65, No. 13Brigham Young 14
• Freedom Bowl:Colorado St. 32,Oregon 31
• Peach Bowl:Auburn 27,Indiana 23
• All-American Bowl:North Carolina St. 31, No. 23Southern Mississippi 27
• Blockbuster Bowl: No. 6Florida St. 24, No. 7Penn St. 17
• Liberty Bowl:Air Force 23, No. 24Ohio St. 11
• Aloha Bowl:Syracuse 28,Arizona 0
• Independence Bowl:Louisiana Tech 34,Maryland 34
• California Bowl:San Jose St. 48,Central Michigan 24

1. Georgia Tech
2. Colorado
3. Miami (FL)
4. Florida State
5. Washington
6. Notre Dame
7. Tennessee
8. Michigan
9. Clemson
10. Penn State
11. Texas
12. Louisville
13. Texas A&M
14. Michigan State
15. Virginia
16. Iowa
17. Brigham Young
18. Nebraska
19. Auburn
20. San Jose State
21. Syracuse
22. USC
23. Mississippi
24. Illinois
25. Virginia Tech

• Florida, Houston and Oklahoma were not eligible to be ranked in the coaches poll due to NCAA probation.

TheHeisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

Source:^[3]

• Maxwell Award – Ty Detmer, BYU
• Walter Camp Award – Raghib Ismail, Notre Dame
• O'Brien Award – Ty Detmer, BYU
• Lombardi (Linebacker) – Chris Zorich, Notre Dame
• Outland (Interior) – Russell Maryland, Miami-FL
• AFCA Coach of the Year – Bobby Ross, Georgia Tech

• Colorado Buffaloes –AP Poll
• Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – UPI Poll

Italics denotes I-AA teams.

Voters were divided in the first poll of the 1990 college football season. The first rankings reflected the lack of consensus, as No. 1Miami, No. 2Notre Dame, No. 3Auburn, No. 4Florida State, and No. 5Colorado each received at least three first-place votes in the preseason poll.

There was little movement in the polls as most teams either played against non-competitive foes or did not begin the season until September 8. The only significant game was a 31–31 tie between No. 5 Colorado and No. 8Tennessee in the first-everPigskin Classic, played atAnaheim Stadium. The next AP Poll featured Miami and Notre Dame still at Nos. 1 and 2, Auburn and Florida State tied at No. 3, andMichigan at No. 5.

The most significant game and slight upset of week two came inProvo, Utah, where No. 16Brigham Young, led by eventual Heisman Trophy winnerTy Detmer, held off the defending champion, No. 1 Miami Hurricanes, 28–21. No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 5 Michigan, who were scheduled to play each other the following week, had not begun their season. No. 3 Auburn defeated Cal State Fullerton 38-17, while fellow No. 3 Florida State beat East Carolina 45-24. A comeback by No. 6 Colorado staved off defeat against unranked Stanford, 17–14. The pollsters remained unimpressed by Colorado, dropping them to No. 9 despite the win. TheGene Stallings era began for No. 13Alabama with a 27–24 loss to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, quarterbacked byBrett Favre; the Tide opened their season with three straight losses. TheSteve Spurrier era also began atFlorida, as the unranked Gators beat Oklahoma State 50-7. In Charlottesville, No. 14Virginia beat No. 9Clemson 20-7 in what was viewed as an upset. It was Virginia's first win ever over the Tigers, after 29 consecutive losses since their first meeting in 1955. The top five teams in the next poll were No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Brigham Young.

The most important game of week three was a top five match-up of No. 1 Notre Dame against No. 4 Michigan. In an exciting game, the Fighting Irish prevailed 28–24. No. 2 Auburn won 24-10 at Mississippi, No. 3 Florida State defeated Georgia Southern 48-6, No. 5 Brigham Young beat Washington State 50-36, and No. 6USC got pastPenn State 19-14. The other game that would have season-long significance was No. 21Illinois' upset of No. 9 Colorado, 23–22. The game would figure prominently in the national championship argument in January. Spurrier also won his SEC debut, with No. 24 Florida besting Alabama 17–13. The next poll featured No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 Brigham Young, and No. 5 USC.

No. 1 Notre Dame squeaked past No. 24 Michigan State 20-19, with the crucial moment being a bizarre play where aRick Mirer pass bounced off the chest of Spartans cornerback Todd Murray and into the hands of receiver Adrian Jarrell, putting the Irish in position to score the game-winning touchdown. No. 2 Florida State won 31-13 at Tulane, while No. 3 Auburn was idle. No. 4 Brigham Young defeated San Diego State 62-34, but No. 5 USC was blasted 31-0 by No. 21Washington. No. 6 Tennessee, which was idle this week, moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 Brigham Young, and No. 5 Tennessee.

No. 1 Notre Dame defeated Purdue 37-11, and No. 2 Florida State beat Virginia Tech 39-28. No. 5 Tennessee had their second tie in a little over a month, as No. 3 Auburn rallied from a 17-point deficit to even the score; a missed Volunteers field goal with 15 seconds left led to a 26-26 final tally. No. 4 Brigham Young visited Oregon and lost 32-16. No. 6 Michigan won 45-17 over Maryland, and No. 7 Virginia defeated William & Mary 63-35. The next poll featured No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Virginia, and No. 5 Auburn.

The most controversial game of the season—and one of the most controversial of all time—occurred this week, when No. 12 Colorado beat Missouri on a last minute lunge by back-up quarterback Charles Johnson. The problem, however, was that Johnson actually scored on aFifth Down due to an error by the seven officials calling the game. The game would have major ramifications for the national championship at year's end.

Meanwhile, Stanford’sTommy Vardell scored four touchdowns (all on runs from the one-yard line) to lead the Cardinal to a 36-31 upset of No. 1 Notre Dame. No. 2 Florida State visited No. 9 Miami and lost 31-22. No. 3 Michigan dominated Wisconsin 41-3, while No. 4 Virginia was idle. No. 5 Auburn barely escaped unheralded Louisiana Tech, winning 16-14 on a last-second field goal, and the Tigers fell out of the top five in the next poll. No. 6 Tennessee was also idle, and No. 7Oklahoma moved up with a 31-17 win at Oklahoma State: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Virginia, No. 3 Miami, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 Tennessee. All of the top five teams received first place votes, as did No. 8Nebraska, No. 10 Florida, and No. 13Houston.

After sitting on top of the college rankings for only four days, Michigan became the third number one team of the year to get knocked off the top spot, losing 28–27 at home in Ann Arbor to archrivalMichigan State; the Wolverines failed a two-point conversion with seconds to go asDesmond Howard could not hold on to the ball when he was allegedly interfered with, in a very controversial no-call by the referees. This opened the door for No. 2 Virginia, who moved atop the polls for the first time in team history with a 31-0 shutout of North Carolina State. No. 3 Miami was similarly dominant in a 34-0 win over Kansas. The day's other upset of a top-five team was No. 4 Oklahoma's 14–13 loss to unranked Texas in theRed River Shootout. No. 9 Florida also endured their first loss in the Spurrier era, losing a 45–3 rout at the hands of No. 5 Tennessee despite being down only 7–3 at halftime. No. 18Georgia Tech knocked off No. 15 Clemson, 21–19, in a game that was to be of greater importance at the end of season. The next poll featured No. 1 Virginia, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 5 Auburn.

No. 1 Virginia won 49-14 at Wake Forest, but otherwise the season continued to shock as ten of the 25 ranked teams went down to defeat on an unforgettable Saturday. In a battle of national powers, No. 6 Notre Dame knocked off No. 2 Miami, 29–20, in South Bend and ensured the Hurricanes would not repeat as national champions. Perhaps an even greater upset came in Knoxville, where Alabama (with a 2–3 record), stunned No. 3 Tennessee, 9–6, just one week after the Volunteers had put up 45 points on Florida. The Vols lined up to kick a potential game winning FG with less than two minutes left only to see Stacy Harrison block the kick. The momentum from the block sent the ball forty yards back downfield and put Alabama in position to win on a last second field goal by All-American Phillip Doyle. No. 5 Auburn scored 10 points in the last 4 minutes to beat No. 7 Florida State 20–17 in a match-up of top ten teams. Auburn's win put them at No. 2 in the nation, their highest ranking since they won the national championship in 1957. No. 24 Michigan State continued their habit of close games against highly-ranked teams, losing 15-13 to No. 8 Illinois with all of the Illini’s points coming on field goals. No. 11 Georgia Tech suffered their first imperfection of the season, but they did not lose the game thanks to a Scott Sisson field goal in the closing seconds. Their tiff with North Carolina ended in a 13–13 tie that would later haunt the Yellow Jackets. Michigan lost their second game in a row by a single point, this time to Iowa, 24–23, following their ascent to number one. The next poll featured No. 1 Virginia, No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 5 Illinois.

No. 1 Virginia was idle. No. 2 Auburn won yet another nailbiter, prevailing 17-16 over Mississippi State on a blocked extra point. No. 3 Notre Dame won 31-22 at Pittsburgh, No. 4 Nebraska beat Iowa State 45-13, and No. 5 Illinois defeated Wisconsin 21-3. The next poll featured No. 1 Virginia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Auburn, and No. 5 Illinois.

One of the most upset-filled days in college football history started at the top. No. 1 Virginia entered their game against No. 16 Georgia Tech short-handed, as star tight endBruce McGonnigal ruptured his spleen in a freak accident when he fell into a concrete pit while looking for a lost dog. A late Cavaliers touchdown was nullified by a penalty called on one of McGonnigal’s backups, and this play proved to be the difference when Georgia Tech'sScott Sisson kicked a field goal with time running out for a 41-38 victory. But this game shared top billing with the showdown in Lincoln, Nebraska, between No. 3 Nebraska and No. 9 Colorado. Trailing by 12 points with only 12 minutes to play, the Buffaloes scored four touchdowns, all fromEric Bieniemy, to win 27–12. And just when the shock had worn off, No. 15 Florida routed No. 4 Auburn, 48–7, and No. 5 Illinois fell 54-28 to No. 13Iowa. A few highly-ranked teams actually won: No. 2 Notre Dame regained the top spot with a 52-31 win over Navy, No. 6 Houston beat TCU 56-35, No. 7 Washington defeated No. 23 Arizona 54-10, and No. 8 Miami shut out Pittsburgh 45-0. The next poll featured No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Houston, No. 4 Colorado, and No. 5 Miami.

In keeping with the strange season where the uncommon became commonplace, four of the top nine teams lost and the muddy national title picture got a little clearer. No. 2 Washington, poised for a possible shot at the title, lost a stunner at home to UCLA, 25–22, when the Bruins kicked the game-winning FG with seven seconds left, ending a national title dream, although the Huskies still were bound for theRose Bowl. No. 3 Houston, with Heisman Trophy candidateDavid Klingler filling the shoes of departed 1989 Heisman winnerAndre Ware, finally lost, falling 45–24 to No. 14Texas and ending speculation that the national championship might go to a team on probation. Houston's bowl ineligibility assured they would be given no consideration in the final poll for a top ranking. No. 6 Iowa stumbled at home and lost to Ohio State, 27–26, as the Buckeyes scored the game-winning touchdown with one second left, ending the Hawkeyes' title bid. No. 9 Tennessee managed a fourth imperfection on their record—two losses and two ties—when they fell to No. 1 Notre Dame, 34–29.

The losses, however, helped clear the way for some other hopefuls. No. 4 Colorado beat Oklahoma State 41-22 to clinch the Big 8 title and anOrange Bowl berth, while No. 5 Miami was idle. No. 7 Georgia Tech scored their second buzzer-beating field goal in two weeks in a 6-3 win over Virginia Tech; the Yellow Jackets, whose only blemish was a tie against North Carolina in October, were now the only undefeated team in the nation. No. 8 Brigham Young won 45-14 over No. 25Wyoming and moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Colorado, No. 3 Miami, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 Brigham Young.

The championship picture, much clearer just a week earlier, was considerably muddied again when top-ranked Notre Dame became the fifth number one to fall from the top spot as No. 18 Penn State edged the No. 1 Irish, 24–21, on a Craig Fayak field goal with 4 seconds left, coming back from a 14-point deficit.^[5] No. 2 Colorado finished their season by overwhelming Kansas State 64-3, No. 3 Miami defeated Boston College 42-12, No. 4 Georgia Tech won 42-7 at Wake Forest, No. 5 Brigham Young visited Utah for a 45-22 victory, and No. 6 Florida was victorious 47-15 at Kentucky. The next poll featured No. 1 Colorado, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Brigham Young, and No. 5 Florida.

No. 1 Colorado had finished their season. No. 2 Miami beat Syracuse 33-7, but undefeated No. 3 Georgia Tech (which was idle this week) moved ahead of the two-loss Hurricanes in the next poll. No. 4 Brigham Young defeated Utah State 45-10, and No. 5 Florida was idle. No. 6 Texas, who clinched the SWC title and aCotton Bowl berth with a 22-13 win at Baylor, moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Colorado, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Miami, No. 4 Brigham Young, and No. 5 Texas.

No. 1 Colorado had finished their season. No. 2 Georgia Tech ended the year with a 40-23 win at Georgia. No. 3 Miami barely got past unheralded San Diego State 30-28, and No. 4 Brigham Young lost 59-28 at Hawaii. No. 5 Texas beat Texas A&M 28-27 on a failed two-point conversion by the Aggies. No. 7 Notre Dame, who had already finished their schedule, moved back into the top five in the final regular-season poll: No. 1 Colorado, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Miami, and No. 5 Notre Dame.

In a chaotic year where nearly every club had two or more losses, the top two teams were 10-1-1 Colorado and 10-0-1 Georgia Tech. The Buffaloes had an inferior record and were the beneficiaries of the referee’s error in the Fifth Down Game, but they also played an extraordinarily tough schedule (their non-conference opponents included the champions of the Big Ten, Pac-10, and SWC as well as the second-place team in the SEC), while the Yellow Jackets faced easier opposition. As the champions of the Big 8 and ACC, the two teams were locked into the Orange andCitrus Bowls and were not able to play each other in a de facto national championship game.

Many of the bowl matchups were affected by unusual circumstances. For the second year in a row, the Orange Bowl organizers had invited top-ranked Notre Dame to play Big 8 champion Colorado in what they hoped would be a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, only for the Fighting Irish to lose their next game after accepting the invitation; they had fallen to No. 5 by the time they faced No. 1 Colorado. TheSugar Bowl made an even bigger blunder by selecting Virginia as one of its participants, as the Cavaliers lost all of their remaining games after accepting the invitation and entered bowl season unranked. No. 11 Florida, the SEC champion, was barred from bowl participation due to NCAA sanctions, so No. 10 Tennessee (the only team to beat the Gators in conference play) took their place in the Sugar Bowl. The Big Ten finished in an unusual four-way tie for first place between No. 12 Michigan, No. 16 Illinois, No. 17 Iowa, and No. 22 Michigan State; the Hawkeyes, who beat all three of the other teams but lost to two lesser opponents, got the Rose Bowl bid against No. 8 Washington. The Cotton Bowl featured a relatively normal matchup between No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Miami, but theFiesta Bowl, faced with a potential boycott over the state of Arizona’s refusal to declare Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a holiday, had to settle for No. 18Louisville against No. 25 Alabama. No. 2 Georgia Tech’s Citrus Bowl opponent would be No. 19 Nebraska.

Although Miami had two losses, the Hurricanes would repeat as national champions if both Colorado and Georgia Tech lost while Miami won. The Hurricanes did their best, routing the Longhorns, 46–3, but the early morning 45–21 pounding of No. 19 Nebraska by Georgia Tech, closed the door on the Hurricanes chances and opened the question of whether Georgia Tech could possibly win a share if Colorado beat Notre Dame.

The wins by Miami and Georgia Tech ensured Notre Dame could not wind up as champion, but the Irish and Buffaloes fought to the finish with Colorado prevailing, 10–9, on a blocked extra point. With only 65 seconds left, it appeared Notre Dame had won whenRocket Ismail ran 91 yards with a punt return for touchdown that was called back on a clipping penalty.Deon Figures intercepted Rick Mirer's desperation pass to clinch the national title for Colorado.

When the final votes were counted, Colorado had won their first national champion as voted by the Associated Press. The UPI coaches poll, however, saw a shake-up that resulted in Georgia Tech moving to No. 1 by one point. It has long been speculated that the deciding vote was cast by Colorado Buffaloes rival Nebraska's head coachTom Osborne, the only coach who had played both teams during the 1990 season. Colorado beat Nebraska, 27–12, in Lincoln while Georgia Tech had beaten them in the Florida Citrus Bowl, 45–21.

Average home attendance top 3:

Source:^[6]

• Fifth Down Game (1990)

• 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season

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