1990 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1990 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1990 NCAA Division I - A football season . The team ' s head coach was Gary Moeller . The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium . The team won the third of five consecutive Big Ten championships . Schedule . Season summary . Ohio State . Statistical achievements . Desmond Howard was the Big Ten receiving statistical champion for conference games with 5 . 5 receptions per contest , Northwestern ' s Richard Buchanan won the title for all games . Additionally , he won the first of two Big Ten receiving yardage champion for all games with 85 . 4 yards per game , but he lost the conference games yardage championship to Ohio State ' s Jeff Graham . J . D . Carlson won the Big Ten scoring championship with a 7 . 9 points per game average for all games , although he lost the conference per game championship to Michigan State ' s Hyland Hickson . Elvis Grbac won his first of three consecutive Big Ten passing statistical championships ( 137 . 1 passing efficiency in all games ) , Matt Rodgers of Iowa won the title for conference games . The team led the Big Ten in rushing offense for all games ( 264 . 6 yards per game ) , although Michigan State won the title for conference games . They also led in passing efficiency for all games ( 137 . 7 ) although Iowa led for conference games . They were the conference leader in total offense for all games ( 432 . 5 yards per game ) , although Iowa won the title for conference games . The 715 yards of total offense in the January 1 , 1991 Gator Bowl against Ole Miss stood as the school record until October 17 , 2009 . The team earned the first of four consecutive and six 1990s Big Ten rushing defense statistical championships for all games by holding opponents to 104 . 7 yards per game . Iowa won the title for conference games . The team led the conference in total defense for conference games ( 289 . 4 ) , while Iowa led for all games . The team led the Big Ten Conference in scoring defense for conference games ( 16 . 9 points per game ) and all games ( 16 . 5 ) . They were the conference leaders in quarterback sack s for conference games ( 3 . 6 sacks per game ) and all games ( 3 . 6 sacks per game ) . They led the conference in turnover margin ( + 0 . 92 ) in all games , while Illinois led for conference games . They led the conference in punt return average in conference games ( 17 . 4 yards per return ) and all games ( 15 . 2 ) . The season marked the third consecutive year that the team led the conference in kick return average in conference games ( 26 . 5 yards per return ) and all games ( 27 . 3 ) . Jon Vaughn set the current school record for career yards per carry ( 6 . 29 , min 200 carries ) , eclipsing Rob Lytle ' s 16 year old record . Vaughn opened the 1990 season by posting 201 rushing yards on September 15 , 1990 against University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish and following it up with 288 rushing yards against the University of California , Los Angeles Bruins on September 22 , 1990 at the Big House . This feat made him the first Michigan back to rush for 200 yards in consecutive games , a feat not duplicated until Mike Hart did so in 2004 . Grbac became the fourth Wolverine to post a 4 - touchdown pass performance against Mississippi State , he would become the first to post two the following season and later in his career would post a third such performance . Grbac became the first single - season 20 - touchdown passer with 21 , eclipsing Jim Harbaugh ' s 18 in 1985 , a record he would extend to 25 the following year . Awards and honors . The individuals in the sections below earned recognition for meritorious performances .