# 1990 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

The 1990 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Jackets posted an undefeated 11–0–1 record. For the season the Yellow Jackets offense scored 379 points while the defense allowed 186 points. Highlights from the season included a nationally televised win over #1 Virginia on the road and a defeat of archrival Georgia for the second consecutive year. Georgia Tech capped off the season by defeating Nebraska, 45–21, in the Florida Citrus Bowl. Head coach Bobby Ross and the Yellow Jackets were awarded a share of the national championship, winning the UPI Poll title by one vote over Colorado, who won the AP Poll title. The team was selected national champion by the UPI coaches poll, Dunkel, and Sagarin (ELO-Chess), while co-national champion by both FACT and NCF.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 8 | 12:00 pm | NC State | | Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA | JPS | W 21–13 | 40,021 |
| September 22 | 1:00 pm | Chattanooga* | | Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA | | W 44–9 | 32,911 |
| September 29 | 4:00 pm | No. 25 South Carolina* | | Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA | ESPN | W 27–6 | 46,011 |
| October 6 | 12:00 pm | at Maryland | No. 23 | Byrd StadiumCollege Park, MD | JPS | W 31–3 | 31,941 |
| October 13 | 12:00 pm | No. 15 Clemson | No. 18 | Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA | JPS | W 21–19 | 46,066 |
| October 20 | 1:30 pm | at North Carolina | No. 11 | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC | | T 13–13 | 48,000 |
| October 27 | 12:00 pm | Duke | No. 16 | Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA | JPS | W 48–31 | 44,061 |
| November 3 | 2:00 pm | at No. 1 Virginia | No. 16 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, Virginia | CBS | W 41–38 | 49,700 |
| November 10 | 1:00 pm | Virginia Tech* | No. 7 | Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA | | W 6–3 | 43,011 |
| November 17 | 1:00 pm | at Wake Forest | No. 4 | Groves StadiumWinston-Salem, NC | | W 42–7 | 13,493 |
| December 1 | 12:30 pm | at Georgia* | No. 2 | Sanford StadiumAthens, GA (Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate) | TBS | W 40–23 | 82,122 |
| January 1 | 1:30 pm | vs. No. 19 Nebraska* | No. 2 | Florida Citrus BowlOrlando, FL (Citrus Bowl) | ABC | W 45–21 | 72,328 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern timeSource: |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked ( ) = 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 | — | — | — | — | — | 23 | 18 | 11 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 3 (8) | 2 (10) | 2 (16) | 2 (20) |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 3 (4) | 3 (3) | 2 (7) | 1 (30) |

## Game summaries
### At Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Yellow Jackets | 0 | 14 | 21 | 6 | 41 |
| Cavaliers | 10 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 38 |
The most notable victory for the Yellow Jackets came on November 3 against #1 ranked Virginia at Scott Stadium. The game was televised nationally by CBS with Jim Nantz handling play-by-play duties. Georgia Tech won 41–38 thanks to a 37-yard field goal by Scott Sisson with seven seconds remaining. The win vaulted Georgia Tech to the #7 ranking in both major polls.

### Virginia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hokies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| • Yellow Jackets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |

### Vs. Nebraska (Citrus Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cornhuskers | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| • Yellow Jackets | 7 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 45 |

## Awards and honors

* Bobby Ross – Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, ACC Coach of the Year
* Ken Swilling – Consensus First-team All-American

## Team players drafted into the NFL

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Calvin Tiggle | Linebacker | 7 | 174 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Jim Lavin | Guard | 10 | 268 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Willie "Big Play" Clay | Cornerback | 8 | 221 | Detroit Lions |
Source.