1990 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1990 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Big Ten co-champion
Hall of Fame Bowl, L 0–30 vs. Clemson
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 24
AP	No. 25
Record	8–4 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Mackovic (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Gene Dahlquist (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Lou Tepper (3rd season)
MVP	Howard Griffith
Captains	Curtis Lovelace Howard Griffith Moe Gardner Darrick Brownlow
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1989 1991  →

1990 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 18 Iowa +	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 7 Michigan +	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 16 Michigan State +	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	1
No. 25 Illinois +	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Ohio State	5	–	2	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Minnesota	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Indiana	3	–	4	–	1			6	–	5	–	1
Purdue	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Wisconsin	0	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1990 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference 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 (6–2 in conference games), finished in a four-way tie for first place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 293 to 216. They concluded the season in the 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl, losing to Clemson. Ranked No. 16 in the AP poll at the end of the regular season, they dropped to No. 25 in the final poll issued after the bowl games. ^[1]

Quarterback Jason Verduzco led the Big Ten with 213 completions,a 64.5% completion percentage, and 2,446 passing yards. Other statistical leaders included fullback Howard Griffith with 1,056 rushing yards and 90 points scored, and wide receiver Shawn Wax with 54 receptions for 863 yards. ^[2]

Nose guard Moe Gardner was a consensus pick on the 1990 All-American team, and linebacker Darrick Brownlow received first-team honors from Football News (second-team from the AP and UPI). Five players received first-team honors on the 1990 All-Big Ten Conference football team: defensive linemen Gardner (AP-1, Coaches-1) and Mel Agee (AP-1, Coaches-1); linebacker Brownlow (AP-1, Coaches-1); receiver Shawn Wax (AP-1, Coaches-2); and center Curt Lovelace (AP-1). ^{[3] [4] [5]} .

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	8:00 pm	at Arizona *	No. 11	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ		L 16–28	53,330
September 15	2:30 pm	No. 9 Colorado *	No. 21	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ABC	W 23–22	64,351
September 22	2:30 pm	Southern Illinois *	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 56–21	64,469	[6]
October 6	2:30 pm	at No. 20 Ohio State	No. 13	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck)	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	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		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	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)		L 17–22	105,343
November 17	11:30 am	Indiana	No. 22	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)		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	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL (Hall of Fame Bowl)	NBC	L 0–30	63,154	[7]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[8]

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

• Date: October 6
• Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL
• Game attendance: 64,351
• Television network: ABC

     

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

See also: 1990 Colorado Buffaloes football team

^[9]

Iowa

See also: 1990 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

Michigan

See also: 1990 Michigan Wolverines football team and Illinois–Michigan football rivalry

Indiana

See also: 1990 Indiana Hoosiers football team

Northwestern

See also: 1990 Northwestern Wildcats football team and Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry

Clemson (Hall of Fame Bowl)

Main article: 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl

See also: 1990 Clemson Tigers football team

Roster

1990 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 29 Howard Griffith Sr TE 82 Frank Hartley Sr OT 79 Brad Hopkins So C 69 Tim Simpson Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 96 Mel Agee Sr LB 48 Darrick Brownlow Sr DT 95 Moe Gardner Sr DB 33 Chris Green Sr DB 18 Henry Jones Sr DB 37 Steve Nelson Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John Mackovic Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

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

1. "1990 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. "1990 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
3. "Hawks dominate AP's All-Big Ten" (PDF). The Daily Iowan . November 28, 1990. p. 1B.
4. "Leaders dominate AP All-Big Ten team". The Daily Reporter. November 28, 1990. p. 6.
5. "Michigan, Iowa tops in balloting". The Argus-Press (AP story). November 27, 1990. p. 9.
6. Batterson, Steve (September 23, 1990). "Griffith levels Salukis". Quad-City Times . p. 1E. Retrieved December 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Clemson 'D' gains Fame in 30–0 win". The Tampa Tribune. January 2, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "1990 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
9. "Illinois 23, Colorado 22". United Press International . September 15, 1990. Retrieved January 1, 2019.