The 1990 Big Ten Conference football season was the 95th season of

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

played by the member schools of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

and was a part of the

1990 NCAA Division I-A football season 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 th ...

. The Iowa Hawkeyes won a four-way tie for the Big Ten Conference championship by defeating the three other teams atop the conference standings – Michigan, Michigan State, and Illinois – in their respective head-to-head matchups. The Hawkeyes earned their third trip to Pasadena in ten seasons, but lost 46-34 to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in the 1991 Rose Bowl. Michigan defeated Ole Miss 35-3 in the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

to finish 9-3 on the season. The #7 Wolverines were the highest ranked Big Ten team in the final AP poll. Joining Michigan in the final rankings were the other conference co-champions – #16 Michigan State, #18 Iowa, and #25 Illinois. Iowa running back Nick Bell received the

Chicago Tribune Silver Football The Chicago Tribune Silver Football is awarded by the ''Chicago Tribune'' to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Illinois wa ...

trophy as the conference's most valuable player. Michigan defensive back

Tripp Welborne Sullivan Anthony "Tripp" Welborne III (born November 20, 1968) is a former American football player. Welborne played college football, principally as a safety and punt returner, from 1987 to 1990. He had five interceptions as a sophomore in 19 ...

and Illinois defensive lineman

Moe Gardner Morris "Moe" Gardner Jr. (born August 10, 1968) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons (1991–1996). Moe Gardner graduated from Cathedral High Sch ...

were consensus first-team All-Americans for the second straight season.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

of the 1990 season
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1990 season
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the ''Chicago Tribune'' Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold

Pre-season

Regular season

Bowl games

Six Big Ten teams played in bowl games: * Iowa lost to

, 46-34, in the Rose Bowl in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. * Michigan defeated Ole Miss, 35-3, in the

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. * Illinois lost to Clemson, 30-0, in the

Hall of Fame Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 t ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. * Michigan State defeated

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

, 17-16, in the

John Hancock Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. * Indiana lost to

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, 27-23, in the

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially re ...

, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. * Ohio State lost to

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

, 23-11, in the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

Rankings

Statistical leaders

The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders include the following:

Passing yards

Jason Verduzco Jason A. Verduzco (born April 3, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played one season with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. He played college football at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Early years ...

, Illinois (2,567)
2. Eric Hunter, Purdue (2,355)
3.

Matt Rodgers Matt Rodgers (born January 8, 1969) is a former college football player for the University of Iowa from 1988-1991. He was the quarterback who started for the Hawkeyes in the 1991 Rose Bowl game and won the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year awar ...

, Iowa (2,228)
4. Greg Frey, Ohio State (2,062)
5.

Elvis Grbac Elvis M. Grbac (born August 13, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football at Michigan, where he won the ...

, Michigan (1,911)

Rushing yards

1. Tico Duckett, Michigan State (1,394)
2.

Jon Vaughn Jonathan Stewart Vaughn (born March 12, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and kick returner in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons from 1991 to 1994 for the Seattle Seahawks, New E ...

, Michigan (1,364)
3.

Vaughn Dunbar Vaughn Allen Dunbar (born September 4, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons. He played college football for the Indiana Hoosiers, and earned A ...

, Indiana (1,224)
4. Hyland Hickson, Michigan State (1,196)
5. Robert Smith, Ohio State (1,126)

Receiving yards

Desmond Howard Desmond Kevin Howard (born May 15, 1970) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Michigan, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior. Howard w ...

, Michigan (1,025)
2. Shawn Wax, Illinois (863)
3. Richard Buchanan, Northwestern (834)
4.

Jeff Graham Jeffery Todd Graham (born February 14, 1969) is a retired professional American football player who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft. A 6'2", 206-lb wide receiver from Kettering, Archbishop Alt ...

, Ohio State (763)
5. Rob Turner, Indiana (717)

Total offense

, Illinois (2,384)
2. Eric Hunter, Purdue (2,355)
3.

, Iowa (2,292)
4. Greg Frey, Ohio State (1,965)
5.

, Michigan (1,928)

Passing efficiency rating

, Michigan (137.2)
2.

, Illinois (132.5)
3.

, Iowa (130.2)
4. Dan Enos, Michigan State (122.3)
5. Greg Frey, Ohio State (120.7)

Rushing yards per attempt

1. Robert Smith, Ohio State (6.4)
2.

, Michigan (6.3)
3. Nick Bell, Iowa (6.1)
4.

Howard Griffith Howard Griffith (born November 17, 1968) is a former American football fullback who spent 11 seasons in the NFL (1991–2001). While at the University of Illinois, Griffith set the NCAA record for touchdowns in a game with eight. It occurred o ...

, Illinois (5.5)
5. Tico Duckett, Michigan State (5.4)

Yards per reception

1. Rob Turner, Indiana (21.7)
2. Tim Ware, Wisconsin (19.7)
3.

, Ohio State (19.1)
4.

, Michigan (16.3)
5. James Bradley, Michigan State (16.2)

Points scored

1. J.D. Carlson, Michigan (95)
2.

, Illinois (90)
2. Hyland Hickson, Michigan State (90)
4. Nick Bell, Iowa (84)
5. Jeff Skillett, Iowa (83)

Awards and honors

All-conference players

The following players were picked by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

(AP) and/or the

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

(UPI) as first-team players on the 1990 All-Big Ten Conference football team. Offense Defense Special teams

All-Americans

At the end of the season, two Big Ten players were consensus first-team picks for the

1990 College Football All-America Team The 1990 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1990. The National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

. The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

Other awards

Hayden Fry John Hayden Fry (February 28, 1929 – December 17, 2019) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 1962 to 1972, North Texas State University—now know ...

of Iowa received his second Big Ten Coach of the Year award.

1991 NFL draft

The

1991 NFL Draft The 1991 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 21–22, 1991, at the Marriott Mar ...

was held April 21-22, 1991. The following Big Ten players were selected in the first round of the draft:

References

{{Big Ten Conference football navbox