1990 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1990 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach John Mackovic, the Illini compiled an 8–4 record, finished in a four-way tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference, were ranked No. 25 in the final AP Poll, and lost to Clemson in the 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl.[1]

1990 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Big Ten co-champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 24
APNo. 25
Record8–4 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGene Dahlquist (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorLou Tepper (3rd season)
MVPHoward Griffith
CaptainCurtis Lovelace, Howard Griffith, Moe Gardner, Darrick Brownlow
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
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 team's offensive leader were quarterback Jason Verduzco with 2,567 passing yards, fullback Howard Griffith with 1,115 rushing yards, and Shawn Wax with 863 receiving yards.[2]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 88:00 pmat Arizona*No. 11L 16–2853,330
September 152:30 pmNo. 9 Colorado*No. 21ABCW 23–2264,351
September 222:30 pmSouthern Illinois*No. 15
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 56–2164,469[3]
October 62:30 pmat No. 20 Ohio StateNo. 13ABCW 31–2089,404
October 1312:00 pmPurdueNo. 11
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 34–060,604
October 202:30 pmNo. 24 Michigan State No. 8
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
ABCW 15–1370,398
October 271:00 pmat WisconsinNo. 5W 21–367,746
November 32:30 pmNo. 13 IowaNo. 5
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
ABCL 28–5472,714
November 1011:00 amat No. 19 MichiganNo. 17L 17–22105,343
November 1711:30 amIndianaNo. 22W 24–1044,639
November 241:00 pmNorthwesternNo. 22
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 28–2332,383
January 112:00 pmvs. No. 14 Clemson*No. 16NBCL 0–3063,154[4]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[5]

Game summaries

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Colorado

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#9 Colorado at #21 Illinois
1 234Total
Buffaloes 7 1023 22
Fighting Illini 3 776 23
     

[6]

Iowa

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Michigan

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Indiana

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Northwestern

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Clemson (Hall of Fame Bowl)

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Roster

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1990 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB 29 Howard Griffith Sr
TE 82 Frank Hartley Sr
OT 79 Brad Hopkins So
C 69 Tim Simpson Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 96 Mel Agee Sr
LB 48 Darrick Brownlow Sr
DT 95 Moe Gardner Sr
DB 33 Chris Green Sr
DB 18 Henry Jones Sr
DB 37 Steve Nelson Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Award winners

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  • Darrick Brownlow - linebacker (1st-team All-America pick by Football News; 1st-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
  • Moe Gardner - defensive lineman (consensus 1st-team All-American; 1st-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
  • Howard Griffith - fullback (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
  • Doug Higgins - placekicker (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
  • Henry Jones - defensive back (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
  • Marlon Primous - defensive back (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
  • Tim Simpson -offensive guard (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
  • Shawn Wax - receiver (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)

References

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  1. ^ "1990 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "1990 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  3. ^ Batterson, Steve (September 23, 1990). "Griffith levels Salukis". Quad-City Times. p. 1E. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Clemson 'D' gains Fame in 30–0 win". The Tampa Tribune. January 2, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "1990 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  6. ^ "Illinois 23, Colorado 22". United Press International. September 15, 1990. Retrieved January 1, 2019.