1990 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

The 1990 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Jackets posted an undefeated 11–0–1 record. For the season the Yellow Jackets offense scored 379 points while the defense allowed 186 points. Highlights from the season included a nationally televised win over #1 Virginia on the road and a defeat of archrival Georgia for the second consecutive year. Georgia Tech capped off the season by defeating Nebraska, 45–21, in the Florida Citrus Bowl. Head coach Bobby Ross and the Yellow Jackets were awarded a share of the national championship, winning the UPI Poll title by one vote^[1] over Colorado, who won the AP Poll title.^[2] The team was selected national champion by the UPI coaches poll, Dunkel, and Sagarin (ELO-Chess), while co-national champion by both FACT and NCF.^[3]

1990 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
Coaches' Poll national champion ACC champion Florida Citrus Bowl champion
Florida Citrus Bowl, W 45–21 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
Record	11–0–1 (6–0–1 ACC)
Head coach	Bobby Ross (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ralph Friedgen (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	George O'Leary (4th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Bobby Dodd Stadium
Seasons ← 1989 1991 →

1990 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Georgia Tech $	6	–	0	–	1			11	–	0	–	1
No. 9 Clemson	5	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 23 Virginia	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Maryland	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	1
North Carolina	3	–	3	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
NC State	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Duke	1	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Wake Forest	0	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1990 AFCA National Championship Trophy awarded to Georgia Tech

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	12:00 pm	NC State		Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA	JPS	W 21–13	40,021	[4]
September 22	1:00 pm	Chattanooga*		Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA		W 44–9	32,911	[5]
September 29	4:00 pm	No. 25 South Carolina*		Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA	ESPN	W 27–6	46,011	[6]
October 6	12:00 pm	at Maryland	No. 23	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	JPS	W 31–3	31,941	[7]
October 13	12:00 pm	No. 15 Clemson	No. 18	Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA	JPS	W 21–19	46,066	[8]
October 20	1:30 pm	at North Carolina	No. 11	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC		T 13–13	48,000	[9]
October 27	12:00 pm	Duke	No. 16	Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA	JPS	W 48–31	44,061	[10]
November 3	2:00 pm	at No. 1 Virginia	No. 16	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, Virginia	CBS	W 41–38	49,700	[11]
November 10	1:00 pm	Virginia Tech*	No. 7	Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA		W 6–3	43,011	[12]
November 17	1:00 pm	at Wake Forest	No. 4	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC		W 42–7	13,493	[13]
December 1	12:30 pm	at Georgia*	No. 2	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate)	TBS	W 40–23	82,122	[14]
January 1	1:30 pm	vs. No. 19 Nebraska*	No. 2	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL (Citrus Bowl)	ABC	W 45–21	72,328	[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time Source: [16][17]

Rankings

Main article: 1990 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	23	18	11	16	16	7	4	3 (8)	2 (10)	2 (16)	2 (20)
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	18	15	11	12	14	7	5	3 (4)	3 (3)	2 (7)	1 (30)

Game summaries

NC State

See also: 1990 NC State Wolfpack football team

Chattanooga

See also: Chattanooga Mocs football

South Carolina

See also: 1990 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

At Maryland

See also: 1990 Maryland Terrapins football team

Clemson

See also: 1990 Clemson Tigers football team

^[18]

At North Carolina

See also: 1990 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Duke

See also: 1990 Duke Blue Devils football team

At Virginia

#16 Georgia Tech at #1 Virginia

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Yellow Jackets	0	14	21	6	41
Cavaliers	10	18	7	3	38

• Date: November 3
• Location: Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, Virginia
• Game start: 2:00 PM EST
• Game attendance: 49,700
• Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C), Sunny, Wind S 6 mph (9.7 km/h) mph
• TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Tim Brant, and John Dockery

          

Scoring summary

Q1	8:09	UVA	Shawn Moore 1-yard run (McInerney kick)	UVA 7–0
	3:58	UVA	Jake McInerney 27-yard field goal	UVA 10–0
Q2	14:50	UVA	Jake McInerney 51-yard field goal	UVA 13–0
	9:43	GT	Shawn Jones 23-yard run (Sisson kick)	UVA 13–7
	6:42	UVA	Shawn Moore 1-yard run (Herman Moore pass from Shawn Moore)	UVA 21–7
	5:22	GT	Jerry Gilchrist 43-yard pass from Shawn Jones (Sisson kick)	UVA 21–14
	0:36	UVA	Shawn Moore 6-yard run (McInerney kick)	UVA 28–14
Q3	12:47	GT	Jerry Gilchrist 12-yard run (Sisson kick)	UVA 28–21
	4:34	GT	Emmett Merchant 26-yard pass from Shawn Jones (Sisson kick)	Tied 28–28
	3:08	UVA	Herman Moore 63-yard pass from Shawn Moore (McInerney kick)	UVA 35–28
	0:02	GT	William Bell 8-yard run (Sisson kick)	Tied 35–35
Q4	7:17	GT	Scott Sisson 33-yard field goal	GT 38–35
	2:34	UVA	Jake McInerney 22-yard field goal	Tied 38–38
	0:07	GT	Scott Sisson 37-yard field goal	GT 41–38

Main article: 1990 Georgia Tech vs. Virginia football game

See also: 1990 Virginia Cavaliers football team

The most notable victory for the Yellow Jackets came on November 3 against #1 ranked Virginia at Scott Stadium. The game was televised nationally by CBS with Jim Nantz handling play-by-play duties. Georgia Tech won 41–38 thanks to a 37-yard field goal by Scott Sisson with seven seconds remaining.^[19][20] The win vaulted Georgia Tech to the #7 ranking in both major polls.

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech at #7 Georgia Tech

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	0	0	0	3	3
• Yellow Jackets	0	0	0	6	6

• Date: November 10
• Location: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
• Game start: 1:00 PM EST
• Elapsed time: 2:40
• Game attendance: 43,011
• Game weather: 47 °F (8 °C), Cold, overcast, damp, Wind NW 15–25 mph (24–40 km/h) mph
• Referee: Courtney Mauzy

  

Scoring summary

Q4	8:16	VT	M. Thomas 22-yard field goal	VT 3–0
	5:09	GT	Scott Sisson 33-yard field goal	Tied 3–3
	0:08	GT	Sisson 38-yard field goal	GT 6–3

See also: 1990 Virginia Tech Hokies football team and Georgia Tech–Virginia Tech football rivalry

At Wake Forest

See also: 1990 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

^[21]

At Georgia

See also: 1990 Georgia Bulldogs football team and Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate

Vs. Nebraska (Citrus Bowl)

#19 Nebraska vs #2 Georgia Tech

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Cornhuskers	0	14	7	0	21
• Yellow Jackets	7	17	7	14	45

• Date: January 1
• Location: Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
• Game start: 1:30 PM EST
• Game attendance: 72,328
• TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger and Dick Vermeil

      

Scoring summary

Q1	11:45	GT	Stefen Scotton 2-yard run (Scott Sisson kick)	GT 7–0
Q2	12:23	GT	Emmett Merchant 22-yard pass from Shawn Jones (Sisson kick)	GT 14–0
	7:50	GT	William Bell 2-yard pass from Jones (Sisson kick)	GT 21–0
	6:21	NEB	Johnny Mitchell 30-yard pass from Tom Haase (Gregg Barrios kick)	GT 21–7
	5:07	NEB	Derek Brown 50-yard run (Barrios kick)	GT 21–14
	1:50	GT	Sisson 37-yard field goal	GT 24–14
Q3	5:33	GT	Jones 1-yard run (Sisson kick)	GT 31–14
	0:30	NEB	William Washington 21-yard pass from Haase (Barrios kick)	GT 31–21
Q4	9:43	GT	Bell 6-yard run (Sisson kick)	GT 38–21
	7:43	GT	Bell 57-yard run (Sisson kick)	GT 45–21

Main article: 1991 Citrus Bowl

See also: 1990 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

^{[22][23][24][25]}

Plaque at Georgia Tech honoring their National Championship season

Roster

1990 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 36 William Bell So C 59 Billy Chubbs Jr TE 17 Tom Covington Jr WR 8 Jerry Gilchrist Sr OT 66 Darryl Jenkins Sr QB 10 Shawn Jones So G 65 Jim Lavin Sr WR 25 Greg Lester Jr WR 12 Emmett Merchant Jr C 60 Veryl Miller Sr OT 70 Mike Mooney Jr WR 3 Bobby Rodriguez So FB 40 Stefen Scotton Sr G 62 Joe Siffri Sr RB 21 Kevin Tisdel So	Defense Pos. # Name Class SS 43 Thomas Balkcom Sr NG 98 Kevin Battle So DB 4 Willie Clay Jr LB 95 Marco Coleman So LB 93 Orion Cox Sr CB 30 Keith Holmes Sr SS 80 Jay Martin Sr DT 96 Jerimiah McClary Sr DT 92 Coleman Rudolph So LB 99 Chris Simmons Sr LB 86 Rich Strohmeier So FS 1 Ken Swilling Jr LB 58 Calvin Tiggle Sr LB 45 Jerrelle Williams Jr LB 56 Marlon Williams  Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 5 Scott Aldredge Sr K 9 Scott Sisson So	Head coach Bobby Ross Coordinators/assistant coaches Ralph Friedgen – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Danny Smith – Running backs Terry Strock – Wide receivers Mark Hendrickson – Tight ends/special teams Pat Watson – Offensive line George O'Leary – Defensive coordinator/defensive line Chuck Bresnahan – Inside linebackers Brian Baker – Outside linebacker Chuck Priefer – Defensive backs Joe Reich – Graduate assistant Chris Rorke – Graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Awards and honors

• Bobby Ross – Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, ACC Coach of the Year
• Ken Swilling – Consensus First-team All-American

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Calvin Tiggle	Linebacker	7	174	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jim Lavin	Guard	10	268	Cincinnati Bengals
Willie "Big Play" Clay	Cornerback	8	221	Detroit Lions

Source.^[26]