1990 NCAA Division I FBS football season

1990 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams	107
Preseason AP #1	Miami Hurricanes
Post-season
Duration	December 8, 1990 – January 1, 1991
Bowl games	19
AP Poll #1	Colorado Buffaloes
Coaches Poll #1	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Heisman Trophy	Ty Detmer, BYU QB
Winner	Colorado Buffaloes (AP) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Coaches)
Division I-A football seasons
← 1989 1991 →

1990 ACC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#2 Georgia Tech $	6	–	0	–	1			11	–	0	–	1
#9 Clemson	5	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
#23 Virginia	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Maryland	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	1
North Carolina	3	–	3	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
NC State	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Duke	1	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Wake Forest	0	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1990 Big 8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#1 Colorado $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	1
#24 Nebraska	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
#17 Oklahoma	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	4	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Kansas	2	–	4	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Kansas State	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Missouri	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1990 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#7 Michigan +	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
#16 Michigan State +	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	1
#25 Illinois +	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
#18 Iowa +	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Ohio State	5	–	2	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Minnesota	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Indiana	3	–	4	–	1			6	–	5	–	1
Northwestern	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Purdue	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Wisconsin	0	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1990 Big West Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
San Jose State $	7	–	0	–	0			9	–	2	–	1
Fresno State	5	–	1	–	1			8	–	2	–	1
Utah State	5	–	1	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Long Beach State	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
UNLV	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Pacific (CA)	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
New Mexico State	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
Cal State Fullerton	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	11	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1990 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Toledo +	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Central Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	1
Ball State	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Western Michigan	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Miami	4	–	3	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Bowling Green	2	–	4	–	2			3	–	5	–	2
Eastern Michigan	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Kent State	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Ohio	0	–	7	–	1			1	–	9	–	1
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1990 Pacific-10 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#5 Washington $	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
#20 USC	5	–	2	–	1			8	–	4	–	1
Oregon	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
California	4	–	3	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Arizona	5	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
UCLA	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Stanford	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Arizona State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Washington State	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1990 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#13 Florida	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
#8 Tennessee $	5	–	1	–	1			9	–	2	–	2
#21 Ole Miss	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Alabama	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
#19 Auburn	4	–	2	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
Kentucky	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
LSU	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Georgia	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Florida ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Rankings from AP Poll

1990 Southwest Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#12 Texas $	8	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
#10 Houston	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
#15 Texas A&M	5	–	2	–	1			9	–	3	–	1
Baylor	5	–	2	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
Rice	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
TCU	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Texas Tech	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Arkansas	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
SMU	0	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1990 WAC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#22 BYU $	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Colorado State	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	4	–	0
San Diego State	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Wyoming	5	–	3	–	0			9	–	4	–	0
Hawaii	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Air Force	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Utah	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
New Mexico	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	10	–	0
UTEP	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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. The national title was split between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Buffaloes (11–1–1) took the AP poll while the Yellow Jackets (11–0–1) took the UPI Coaches 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".

Arkansas State moved up from Division 1-AA to become a Division 1-A independent bringing the total number of Division 1-A teams up to 107.

The Heisman is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the year
Winner: Ty Detmer, BYU, Jr. QB

Voters were divided in the first poll of the 1990 college football season. The first rankings reflected the lack of consensus for a number one.

Each of the top five teams received at least three first-place votes in the initial poll. The season opening game was the Disneyland Classic between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Tennessee Volunteers in Anaheim, California. The game ended in an exciting 31–31 tie, keeping both teams alive for the national championship.

Although the first game was played on August 26, 1990, the first regular season poll was not released until September 4. Polls in 1990 were released on the Tuesday after the game.

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 drop was Colorado, who fell from #5 to #6 with a 31–31 tie with #8 Tennessee in the first ever Pigskin Classic, played at Anaheim Stadium.

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