1990 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1990 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University 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 Cooper, the Buckeyes compiled a 7–4–1 record (5–2–1 in conference games), finished in fifth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 338 to 197. Against ranked opponents, they tied with No. 22 Indiana and lost to No. 18 USC, No. 13 Illinois, and No. 15 Michigan. They concluded the season with a loss to unranked Air Force in the 1990 Liberty Bowl. The Buckeyes were not ranked in the final AP poll.^[1]

1990 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Liberty Bowl, L 11-23 vs. Air Force
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–4–1 (5–2–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Cooper (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Colletto (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Young (3rd season)
MVP	Jeff Graham
Captains	Jeff Graham Dan Beatty Bo Pelini Vinnie Clark Greg Frey
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ← 1989 1991 →

1990 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
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
No. 18 Iowa +	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
Northwestern	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Purdue	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Wisconsin	0	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The Buckeyes gained an average of 177.7 rushing yards and 181.9 passing yards per game. On defense, they held opponents to 125.7 rushing yards and 164.9 passing yards per game.^[2] The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Greg Frey (1,952 passing yards, 51.8% completion percentage), running back Robert Smith (1,064 rushing yards, 6.5 yards per carry), and wide receiver Jeff Graham (39 receptions for 760 yards).^[2] Graham, center Dan Beatty, and linebacker Steve Tovar received first-team honors on the 1990 All-Big Ten Conference football team.^{[3] [4][5]}

The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 8	3:30 p.m.	Texas Tech*	No. 18	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 17–10	88,707
September 15	12:00 p.m.	at Boston College*	No. 17	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	JPS	W 31–10	32,432
September 29	3:30 p.m.	No. 18 USC*	No. 15	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	L 26–35	89,422
October 6	3:30 p.m.	No. 13 Illinois	No. 20	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck)	ABC	L 20–31	89,404
October 13	12:30 p.m.	at No. 22 Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ESPN	T 27–27	52,080
October 20	2:00 p.m.	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 42–2	57,031
October 27	1:30 p.m.	Minnesota		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 52–23	89,688
November 3	1:30 p.m.	Northwestern		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 48–7	89,177
November 10	12:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Iowa		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ABC	W 27–26	70,033
November 17	2:00 p.m.	at Wisconsin	No. 21	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 35–10	41,403
November 24	12:00 p.m.	No. 15 Michigan	No. 19	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	L 13–16	90,054
December 27	7:00 p.m.	vs. Air Force*	No. 24	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ESPN	L 11–23	39,262
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[6]

Game summaries

Texas Tech

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas Tech	0	3	7	0	10
• Ohio St	0	0	10	7	17

• Date: September 8
• Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Scoring summary

Q2		TTU	Elliott 37 yard field goal	TTU 3–0
Q3		OHST	T. Williams 32 yard field goal	Tie 3–3
Q3		TTU	Lynn 52 yard pass from Gill (Elliott kick)	TTU 10–3
Q3		OHST	Smith 2 yard run (T. Williams kick)	Tie 10–10
Q4		OHST	J. Graham 50 yard punt return (T. Williams kick)	OHST 17–10

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At Boston College

USC

Illinois

At Indiana

At Purdue

Minnesota

Northwestern

At Iowa

Ohio State Buckeyes (5–2–1) at #6 Iowa Hawkeyes (7–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	0	14	0	13	27
Iowa	7	10	3	6	26

at Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa

• Date: November 10 ^[8]
• Game time: 11:10 a.m. CST
• Game weather: Partly cloudy, 55 °F (13 °C)
• Game attendance: 70,033
• Referee: Ron Winter
• TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger & Dick Vermeil

Game information

First quarter IOWA – Matt Rodgers 3-yard run (Jeff Skillett kick), 11:12. Iowa 7–0. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 3:46. Second quarter OSU – Greg Frey 1-yard run (Tim Williams kick), 14:58. Tie 7–7. Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, 3:35. IOWA – Jeff Skillett 34-yard field goal, 9:04. Iowa 10–7. Drive: 12 plays, 50 yards, 5:48. IOWA – Lew Montgomery 1-yard run (Jeff Skillett kick), 2:17. Iowa 17–7. Drive: 9 plays, 46 yards, 3:54. OSU – Jeff Graham 48-yard pass from Greg Frey (Tim Williams kick), 0:00. Iowa 17–14. Drive: 4 plays, 60 yards, 0:43. Third quarter IOWA – Jeff Skillett 37-yard field goal, 0:23. Iowa 20–14. Drive: 8 plays, 56 yards, 2:57. Fourth quarter IOWA – Lew Montgomery 1-yard run (run failed), 11:00. Iowa 26–14. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 3:41. OSU – Bobby Olive 21-yard pass from Greg Frey (Tim Williams kick), 6:34. Iowa 26–21. Drive: 5 plays, 24 yards, 0:48. OSU – Bobby Olive 3-yard pass from Greg Frey (run failed), 0:01. Ohio St 27–26. Drive: 6 plays, 48 yards, 0:57. Top passers OSU – Glenn Frey – 14/37, 223 yards, 3 TD, INT IOWA – Matt Rodgers – 13/21, 137 yards, INT Top rushers OSU – Robert Smith – 13 rushes, 52 yards IOWA – Nick Bell – 16 rushes, 77 yards Top receivers OSU – Jeff Graham – 5 receptions, 105 yards, TD IOWA – Michael Titley – 4 receptions, 79 yards

At Wisconsin

Michigan

Liberty Bowl (vs Air Force)

Personnel

1990 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 83 Allen DeGraffenreid So QB Greg Frey WR Jeff Graham OT 67 Alan Kline Fr WR 8 Bobby Olive TE 85 Cedric Saunders Fr RB Robert Smith	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Tim Williams	Head coach John Cooper Coordinators/assistant coaches Gary Blackney (DC) Jim Colletto (OC) Ron Hudson (QB) Gene Huey (WR) Bob Palcic (OL) Fred Pagac (LB) Bobby Turner (RB) Bill Young (DC) Ron Zook (DB) Mike Dunlevy (assistant) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Awards and honors

• Robert Smith, Big Ten Freshman of the Year

1991 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Vinnie Clark	1	19	Defensive back	Green Bay Packers
Jeff Graham	2	46	Wide receiver	Pittsburgh Steelers
Bobby Olive	11	300	Wide receiver	Kansas City Chiefs

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