1990 Virginia Cavaliers football team

1990 Virginia Cavaliers football
Sugar Bowl, L 22–23 vs. Tennessee
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 23
1990 record	8–4 (5–2 ACC)
Head coach	George Welsh (9th season)
Offensive coordinator	Gary Tranquill (4th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Frank Spaziani
Base defense	5–2
Home stadium	Scott Stadium (Capacity: 42,000)
Seasons

1990 ACC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#2 Georgia Tech	6	–	0	–	1			11	–	0	–	1
#9 Clemson	5	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
#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

The 1990 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cavaliers offense scored 464 points while the defense allowed 227 points. Led by head coach George Welsh, the Cavaliers competed in the Sugar Bowl.

This Virginia team is noteworthy for having achieved a No. 1 national ranking in the Associated Press college football poll for three weeks during the season, starting on October 16 of that year. The Cavaliers held the nation's top spot through the poll of October 30, but then dropped 10 spots after a loss to eventual national co-champion Georgia Tech the next week and continued to fade after that. It was the first time in the program's history that Virginia had ever earned the No. 1 ranking.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	2:00 PM	at Kansas*	No. 15	Memorial Stadium (University of Kansas) Lawrence, Kansas		W 59–10	35,000
September 8	4:00 PM	No. 9 Clemson	No. 14	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, Virginia	ESPN	W 20–7	46,800
September 15	1:00 PM	Navy*	No. 11	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, Virginia		W 56–14	39,400
September 22	12:00 PM	at Duke	No. 10	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, North Carolina	JPS	W 59–0	24,862
September 29	1:00 PM	William & Mary*	No. 7	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, Virginia		W 63–35	40,400
October 13	1:00 PM	NC State	No. 2	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, Virginia		W 31–0	44,300
October 20	1:00 PM	at Wake Forest	No. 1	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, North Carolina		W 49–14	23,124
November 3	2:00 PM	No. 16 Georgia Tech	No. 1	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, Virginia	CBS	L 38–41	49,700
November 10	12:30 PM	at North Carolina	No. 11	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, North Carolina (South's Oldest Rivalry)	JPS	W 24–10	41,000
November 17	12:00 PM	at Maryland	No. 8	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, Virginia (Rivalry)	JPS	L 30–35	43,500
November 24	7:30 PM	at Virginia Tech*	No. 17	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, Virginia (Commonwealth Cup)	ESPN	L 13–38	54,157
January 1	8:30 PM	vs. No. 10 Tennessee*		Louisiana Superdome New Orleans (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	L 22–23	75,132
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Personnel

1990 Virginia Cavaliers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB Moore, ShawnShawn Moore	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach George Welsh Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1991 NFL Draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
Herman Moore	Wide receiver	1	10	Detroit Lions
Tony Covington	Defensive back	4	93	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bruce McGonnigal	Tight end	9	238	Pittsburgh Steelers
Shawn Moore	Quarterback	11	284	Denver Broncos