# 1990 Colorado Buffaloes football team

The 1990 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado Boulder as a member of the Big Eight Conference during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Buffaloes offense scored 338 points while the defense allowed 160 points. Led by head coach Bill McCartney, Colorado defeated Notre Dame 10–9 in the 1991 Orange Bowl to conclude the season.
Despite the infamous Fifth Down Game controversy against a 4-7 Missouri Tigers football team, Colorado was selected national champions by AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, FB News, Football Research, FW, Matthews, NFF, Sporting News, and USA/CNN, and co-champion by both FACT and NCF -all NCAA-designated major selectors. Georgia Tech took the UPI Coaches poll title, with both Washington and Miami receiving national titles from other selectors.
Georgia Tech finished the season undefeated (with its record only blemished by a tie), and subsequently split the national championship with Colorado.
The victory in the Orange Bowl was Colorado's first bowl win in nineteen years.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 26 | 1:00 pm | vs. No. 8 Tennessee* | No. 5 | Anaheim StadiumAnaheim, CA (Pigskin Classic) | NBC | T 31–31 | 33,485 |
| September 6 | 6:00 pm | Stanford* | No. 6 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | ESPN | W 21–17 | 50,699 |
| September 15 | 1:30 pm | at No. 21 Illinois* | No. 9 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | ABC | L 22–23 | 64,351 |
| September 22 | 5:30 pm | at No. 22 Texas* | No. 20 | Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX | ESPN | W 29–22 | 77,373 |
| September 29 | 1:30 pm | No. 12 Washington* | No. 20 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | PSN | W 20–14 | 52,868 |
| October 6 | 12:30 pm | at Missouri | No. 12 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | KCNC | W 33–31 | 46,856 |
| October 13 | 11:30 am | Iowa State | No. 14 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | KCNC | W 28–12 | 51,861 |
| October 20 | 11:00 am | at Kansas | No. 14 | Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | KCNC | W 41–10 | 40,000 |
| October 27 | 12:30 pm | No. 22 Oklahoma | No. 10 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | CBS | W 32–23 | 51,967 |
| November 3 | 2:00 pm | at No. 3 Nebraska | No. 9 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry) | ESPN | W 27–12 | 76,464 |
| November 10 | 1:00 pm | Oklahoma State | No. 4 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | KCNC | W 41–22 | 51,873 |
| November 17 | 12:10 pm | Kansas State | No. 2 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO (rivalry) | KCNC | W 64–3 | 51,136 |
| January 1, 1991 | 6:00 pm | No. 5 Notre Dame* | No. 1 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL (Orange Bowl) | NBC | W 10–9 | 77,062 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 5 (4) | 6 | 9 | 20 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 4 (5) | 2 (5) | 1 (45) | 1 (41) | 1 (42) | 1 (39) |
| Coaches | 5 (2) | 7 | 9 | 18 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 3 (2) | 2 (3) | 1 (45) | 1 (39) | 1 (38) | 2 (27) |

## Game summaries
### Vs. Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| Volunteers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 31 |
Each team dominated with its offensive strength. Mike Pritchard ran for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns as Colorado outgained Tennessee 368-135 on the ground even with Eric Bieniemy sitting out due to a suspension. The Volunteers passed for 368 yards (to Colorado's 68 passing yards), and future NFL wide receivers Carl Pickens and Alvin Harper each had over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown.

### Stanford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| • Buffaloes | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |

### At Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 7 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 22 |
| • Fighting Illini | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 23 |

### At Texas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Buffaloes | 7 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 29 |
| Longhorns | 10 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 22 |

### Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Buffaloes | 0 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 20 |

### At Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Buffaloes | 7 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 33 |
| Tigers | 14 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 31 |

### Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cyclones | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| • Buffaloes | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |

### At Kansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Buffaloes | 17 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 41 |
| Jayhawks | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sooners | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 23 |
| • Buffaloes | 3 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 32 |

### At Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Buffaloes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 27 |
| Cornhuskers | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
* Eric Bieniemy 38 Rush, 137 Yds, 4 TD

### Oklahoma State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 22 |
| • Buffaloes | 7 | 10 | 21 | 3 | 41 |

### Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Buffaloes | 17 | 23 | 3 | 21 | 64 |
The Buffs scored early and often while totaling 634 yards of total offense (360 rushing).

### Notre Dame (Orange Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Irish | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| • Buffaloes | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |

## Team players drafted into the NFL

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Mike Pritchard | Wide receiver | 1 | 13 | Atlanta Falcons |
| Alfred Williams | Linebacker | 1 | 18 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Eric Bieniemy | Running back | 2 | 39 | San Diego Chargers |
| Kanavis McGhee | Linebacker | 2 | 55 | New York Giants |
| Dave McCloughan | Defensive back | 3 | 69 | Indianapolis Colts |
| Mark Vander Poel | Tackle | 4 | 96 | Indianapolis Colts |
| Joe Garten | Center | 6 | 164 | Green Bay Packers |
| Tim James | Defensive back | 8 | 202 | New York Jets |

## Awards and honors

* Alfred Williams, Butkus Award