| 1990 California Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 8, 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Bulldog Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Fresno, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Nick Define (MAC) (split crew: MAC andBig West) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 25,431 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Sportschannel | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Greg Papa andJack Snow | ||||||||||||||||||
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The1990 California Bowl was an Americancollege footballbowl game played on December 8, 1990 atBulldog Stadium inFresno, California. The game pitted theSan Jose State Spartans and theCentral Michigan Chippewas.
The Spartans went a perfect 7–0 in conference play, with a tie to Louisville in their opener and losses to #20 Washington and California.[citation needed] They secured theBig West Conference championship by beatingFresno State, the 1988 and 1989 BWC champions, 42-7.[1] It was their firstBig West Conference championship since 1987, along with their fourth in nine years.
The Chippewas were co-champions of theMid-American Conference (with Toledo, who they had beaten, 13–12). They had only two losses (to Kentucky and Ball State) and one tie (to independent Akron) in their first conference title since1980. This was their first ever bowl game appearance.
San Jose State had 28 first downs to Central Michigan's 13, 200 rushing yards to their 63 and 442 passing yards to the Chippewas' 220. Both teams turned it over twice. San Jose State, despite having 12 penalties for 118 yards, had the ball for 37:11. Sheldon Canley rushed for 164 yards on 23 carries and five touchdowns.[2][3]
The Chippewas did not win the MAC title again until1994, where they advanced to the successor to the California Bowl, theLas Vegas Bowl against UNLV. They did not win a bowl game until2006. San Jose State were co-champions of the Big West with Fresno State, but the Bulldogs were invited to play. They did not return to a bowl game again until2006. They did not win a conference championship again until 2020.