1990 Big Ten Conference football season
LeagueNCAA Division I-A
SportFootball
Number of teams10
TV partner(s)ESPN/ABC, Raycom
Top draft pickBobby Wilson
Picked byWashington Redskins
Co-championsIowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois
Season MVPNick Bell
Top scorerJ.D. Carlson
Football seasons
← 1989
1991 →
1990 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Michigan + 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 16 Michigan State + 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 1
No. 25 Illinois + 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 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

The 1990 Big Ten Conference football season was the 95th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season.

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 in the 1991 Rose Bowl.

Michigan defeated Ole Miss 35-3 in the Gator Bowl 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 trophy as the conference's most valuable player. Michigan defensive back Tripp Welborne and Illinois defensive lineman Moe Gardner were consensus first-team All-Americans for the second straight season.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Conf. Rank Team Head coach AP final AP high Overall record Conf. record PPG PAG MVP
1 Michigan Gary Moeller #7 #1 9-3 6–2 32.4 16.5 Tripp Welborne
Michigan State George Perles #16 #16 8–3-1 6–2 26.0 18.6 Tico Duckett
Illinois John Mackovic #25 #5 8–4 6–2 25.3 27.8
Iowa Hayden Fry #18 #6 8–4 6–2 35.6 24.0 Nick Bell
5 Ohio State John Cooper NR #15 9–3 5–3 27.1 17.7
6 Minnesota John Gutekunst NR NR 6–5 5–3 20.4 25.5
7 Indiana Bill Mallory NR NR 6–5-1 3–4-1 27.4 19.8
8 Northwestern Francis Peay NR NR 2–9 1–7 19.1 33.6
Purdue Fred Akers NR NR 2–9 1–7 16.1 30.6
10 Wisconsin Barry Alvarez NR NR 1–10 0–8 12.1 25.9

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1990 season[1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1990 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
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:

Rankings

Main article: 1990 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Statistical leaders

The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders include the following:[1]

Awards and honors

All-conference players

For the complete All-Big Ten selections, see 1990 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1990 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

Offense

Position Name Team Selectors
Quarterback Matt Rodgers Iowa AP
Running back Nick Bell Iowa AP
Running back Jon Vaughn Michigan AP
Center Dan Beatty Ohio State AP
Center Chris Thome Minnesota AP
Guard Dean Dingman Michigan AP
Guard Eric Moten Michigan State AP
Tackle Tom Dohring Michigan AP
Tackle Greg Skrepenak Michigan AP
Tight end Duane Young Michigan State AP
Receiver Richard Buchanan Northwestern AP
Receiver Jeff Graham Ohio State AP

Defense

Position Name Team Selectors
Defensive line Mel Agee Northwestern AP
Defensive line Don Davey Wisconsin AP
Defensive line Moe Gardner Illinois AP
Defensive line Carlos Jenkins Michigan State AP
Defensive line Jim Johnson Iowa AP
Linebacker Darrick Brownlow Illinois AP
Linebacker Melvin Foster Iowa AP
Linebacker Steve Tovar Ohio State AP
Defensive back Mike Dumas Indiana AP
Defensive back Merton Hanks Iowa AP
Defensive back Tripp Welborne Michigan AP

Special teams

Position Name Team Selectors
Placekicker John Langeloh Michigan State AP
Punter Macky Smith Indiana AP

All-Americans

For the complete All-America selections, see 1990 College Football All-America Team.

At the end of the season, two Big Ten players were consensus first-team picks for the 1990 College Football All-America Team. The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

Position Name Team Selectors
Defensive back Tripp Welborne Michigan AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCFF, FN, NEA, SH, TSN
Nose guard Moe Gardner Illinois AFCA, UPI, WCFF, GNS, SH


Other awards

Hayden Fry of Iowa received his second Big Ten Coach of the Year award.[1]

1991 NFL draft

The 1991 NFL Draft was held April 21–22, 1991. The following Big Ten players were selected in the first round of the draft:[2]

Name Position Team Round Overall pick
Bobby Wilson Defensive Tackle Michigan State 1 17
Vinnie Clark Cornerback Ohio State 1 19
Henry Jones Safety Illinois 1 26
Jarrod Bunch Fullback Michigan 1 27

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "1990 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  2. ^ "1991 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
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