The 1990 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach John Mackovic, the Illini compiled an 8–4 record, finished in a four-way tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference, were ranked No. 25 in the final AP Poll, and lost to Clemson in the 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl.[1]
The team's offensive leader were quarterback Jason Verduzco with 2,567 passing yards, fullback Howard Griffith with 1,115 rushing yards, and Shawn Wax with 863 receiving yards.[2]
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 8 | 8:00 pm | at Arizona* | No. 11 | | | L 16–28 | 53,330 | |
September 15 | 2:30 pm | No. 9 Colorado* | No. 21 | | ABC | W 23–22 | 64,351 | |
September 22 | 2:30 pm | Southern Illinois* | No. 15 | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| | W 56–21 | 64,469 | [3] |
October 6 | 2:30 pm | at No. 20 Ohio State | No. 13 | | ABC | W 31–20 | 89,404 | |
October 13 | 12:00 pm | Purdue | No. 11 | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL (rivalry)
| | W 34–0 | 60,604 | |
October 20 | 2:30 pm | No. 24 Michigan State | No. 8 | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| ABC | W 15–13 | 70,398 | |
October 27 | 1:00 pm | at Wisconsin | No. 5 | | | W 21–3 | 67,746 | |
November 3 | 2:30 pm | No. 13 Iowa | No. 5 | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL
| ABC | L 28–54 | 72,714 | |
November 10 | 11:00 am | at No. 19 Michigan | No. 17 | | | L 17–22 | 105,343 | |
November 17 | 11:30 am | Indiana | No. 22 | | | W 24–10 | 44,639 | |
November 24 | 1:00 pm | Northwestern | No. 22 | - Memorial Stadium
- Champaign, IL (rivalry)
| | W 28–23 | 32,383 | |
January 1 | 12:00 pm | vs. No. 14 Clemson* | No. 16 | | NBC | L 0–30 | 63,154 | [4] |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Central time
|
[5]
Game summaries
Colorado
#9 Colorado at #21 Illinois
Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Buffaloes |
7 |
10 | 2 | 3 |
22 |
• Fighting Illini |
3 |
7 | 7 | 6 |
23 |
Scoring summary |
Q1 | | ILL | Doug Higgins 29-yard field goal | ILL 3–0 |
| COL | George Hemingway 2-yard run (Harper kick) | COL 7–3 |
|
Q2 | | COL | Harper 54-yard field goal | COL 10–3 |
| COL | Michael Simmons 32-yard pass from Darian Hagan (Harper kick) | COL 17–3 |
0:28 | ILL | Elbert Turner 8-yard pass from Jason Verduzco (Higgins kick) | COL 17–10 |
|
Q3 | 2:28 | ILL | Shawn Wax 4-yard pass from Jason Verduzco (Higgins kick) | Tied 17–17 |
| COL | Safety, Greg Biekert tackled Griffith in end zone | COL 19–17 |
|
Q4 | 12:44 | COL | Harper 26-yard field goal | COL 22–17 |
1:18 | ILL | Howard Griffith 1-yard run (conversion failed) | ILL 23–22 |
[6]
Iowa
Michigan
Indiana
Northwestern
Clemson (Hall of Fame Bowl)
Roster
1990 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
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Players
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Coaches
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Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
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Award winners
- Darrick Brownlow - linebacker (1st-team All-America pick by Football News; 1st-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
- Moe Gardner - defensive lineman (consensus 1st-team All-American; 1st-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
- Howard Griffith - fullback (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
- Doug Higgins - placekicker (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
- Henry Jones - defensive back (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
- Marlon Primous - defensive back (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
- Tim Simpson -offensive guard (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
- Shawn Wax - receiver (2nd-team all-Big Ten pick by AP)
References
- ^ "1990 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ "1990 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ Batterson, Steve (September 23, 1990). "Griffith levels Salukis". Quad-City Times. p. 1E. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clemson 'D' gains Fame in 30–0 win". The Tampa Tribune. January 2, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1990 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
- ^ "Illinois 23, Colorado 22". United Press International. September 15, 1990. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
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National championship seasons in bold |
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Big Nine | |
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Big Ten | |
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National championships in bold |