The 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a split national championship and the ensuing controversy helped lead to the creation of the Bowl Coalition, a precursor to the Bowl Championship Series. Auburn's win put them at #2 in the nation, their highest ranking since they won the national championship in 1957. Colorado beat Nebraska, 27–12, in Lincoln while Georgia Tech had beaten them in the Florida Citrus Bowl, 45–21. Meanwhile, #9 Miami met #2 Florida State, with the Hurricanes prevailing, 31–22. Mississippi State (3–3), showing signs of promise for Coach Rockey Felker, fought the 4–0–1 Tigers to the very end, scoring a touchdown on the final play. Those problems were exacerbated when former #8 Virginia lost to Maryland and in the process lost starting quarterback Shawn Moore due to injury. Find out more. Do you have a sports website? Some school's results have been altered by retroactive NCAA penalties. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, September 26, 6:43AM. Wilkes County. Top ranked Notre Dame kept their top ranking for at least one more week after topping Purdue, 37–11. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 1990 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Roster. Trailing by 12 points with only 12 minutes to play, the Buffaloes scored four touchdowns, all from Eric Bieniemy, to win, 27–12, and all but clinch the Big Eight title for the second straight year. The game ended in an exciting 31–31 tie, keeping both teams alive for the national championship. Three of the top four teams were contractually obligated to bowl games that left no chance for a #1 vs. #2 match-up. 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 archrival Michigan State; the Wolverines failed a two-point conversion with seconds to go as future 1991 Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard could not hold on to the ball when he was allegedly interfered with, in what was a very controversial no-call by the referees. The team also won national championships in 1917, 1928, and 1952. 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 loss dropped Miami to #8 while raising the Irish to #3. A comeback by #6 Colorado staved off defeat against unranked Stanford, 17–14. The rankings on the morning of November 6, 1990, when the AP poll was released: 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 when the AP poll was released on November 13. Previous Year Next Year. #7 Georgia Tech again came back in the fourth quarter and beat Virginia Tech, 6–3. The most significant game and slight upset of week two came in Provo, Utah, where the #16 BYU Cougars, led by 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, held off the defending champion, #1 ranked Miami Hurricanes, 28–21. 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. Steve Spurrier also won his SEC debut, with his #24 Florida team besting the Alabama Crimson Tide, 17–13. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Polls in 1990 were released on the Tuesday after the game. Points/G: 31.6 (17th of 107) Points Against: 186. And just when the shock had worn off, #15 Florida routed #4 Auburn, 48–7, to send the Tigers tumbling all the way to #15. The season opening game was the Disneyland Classic between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Tennessee Volunteers in Anaheim, California. Florida, Houston and Oklahoma were not eligible to be ranked in the coaches poll due to NCAA probation. A successful point after try would net the Bulldogs a tie, but a block by Auburn's special teams preserved a 17–16 win at Scott Field. And despite being given consideration time and again, #9 Tennessee managed a fourth imperfection on their record—two losses and two ties—when they fell to #1 Notre Dame, 34–29, in a nationally televised encounter. While #2 Auburn and #3 Florida State both won, the Seminole's 48–6 win over Georgia Southern brought it to #2 in the polls. Conference: ACC. The top five teams for the week ending September 8 were: Notre Dame, Auburn, Florida State, Michigan, and BYU. The reason for the Cougars' fall was Colorado's impressive win over formerly #4-ranked Oklahoma. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? This play became especially controversial at the end of the season, as Georgia Tech would have most likely been undisputed champions had this mistake not been made and Missouri had won (although Colorado likely would not have spiked the ball on what would have been fourth down had the down markers accurately reflected the number of plays run).