# 1990 Virginia Cavaliers football team

The 1990 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cavaliers offense scored 464 points while the defense allowed 227 points. Led by head coach George Welsh, the Cavaliers competed in the Sugar Bowl, losing 23-22.
This Virginia team is noteworthy for having achieved a No. 1 national ranking in the Associated Press college football poll for two weeks during the season, starting on October 16 of that year and ending with a loss to Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers held the nation's top spot through the poll of October 30, but losses in three of four games left them unranked in the AP poll by the end of the regular season. It was the first time in the program's history that Virginia had ever earned the No. 1 ranking.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 2:00 pm | at Kansas* | No. 15 | Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | | W 59–10 | 35,000 |
| September 8 | 4:00 pm | No. 9 Clemson | No. 14 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ESPN | W 20–7 | 46,800 |
| September 15 | 1:00 pm | Navy* | No. 11 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | | W 56–14 | 39,400 |
| September 22 | 12:00 pm | at Duke | No. 10 | Wallace Wade StadiumDurham, NC | JPS | W 59–0 | 24,862 |
| September 29 | 1:00 pm | William & Mary* | No. 7 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | | W 63–35 | 40,400 |
| October 13 | 1:00 pm | NC State | No. 2 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | | W 31–0 | 44,300 |
| October 20 | 1:00 pm | at Wake Forest | No. 1 | Groves StadiumWinston-Salem, NC | | W 49–14 | 23,124 |
| November 3 | 2:00 pm | No. 16 Georgia Tech | No. 1 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | CBS | L 38–41 | 49,700 |
| November 10 | 12:30 pm | at North Carolina | No. 11 | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry) | JPS | W 24–10 | 41,000 |
| November 17 | 12:00 pm | Maryland | No. 8 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA (rivalry) | JPS | L 30–35 | 43,500 |
| November 24 | 7:30 pm | at Virginia Tech* | No. 17 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA (rivalry) | ESPN | L 13–38 | 54,157 |
| January 1 | 8:30 pm | vs. No. 10 Tennessee* | | Louisiana SuperdomeNew Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl) | ABC | L 22–23 | 75,132 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = 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 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 4 (1) | 2 (14) | 1 (38) | 1 (45) | 1 (44) | 11 | 8 | 17 | RV | RV | 23 |
| Coaches | 21 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 3 (10) | 1 (29) | 1 (39) | 1 (35) | 9 | 7 | 14 | 23т | 23 | 15 |

## Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1991 NFL draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Overall | NFL team |
| Herman Moore | Wide receiver | 1 | 10 | Detroit Lions |
| Tony Covington | Defensive back | 4 | 93 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Bruce McGonnigal | Tight end | 9 | 238 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Shawn Moore | Quarterback | 11 | 284 | Denver Broncos |