# 1990 Big Ten Conference football season

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

### Bowl games

Six Big Ten teams played in bowl games:
* Iowa lost to Washington, 46-34, in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
* Michigan defeated Ole Miss, 35-3, in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida.
* Illinois lost to Clemson, 30-0, in the Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa, Florida.
* Michigan State defeated USC, 17-16, in the John Hancock Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
* Indiana lost to Auburn, 27-23, in the Peach Bowl, in Atlanta, Georgia.
* Ohio State lost to Air Force, 23-11, in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee.

### Rankings
## Statistical leaders

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

## Awards and honors
### All-conference players

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

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.

## 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:
| 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 |