1990 Orange Bowl

1990 Federal Express Orange Bowl
1990 Federal Express Orange Bowl
56th Orange Bowl
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Colorado Buffaloes
(11–1)	(11–0)
Independent	Big 8
21	6
Head coach: ; Lou Holtz	Head coach: ; Bill McCartney
AP	Coaches
4	4
AP	Coaches
1	1
Date	January 1, 1990
Season	1989
Stadium	Orange Bowl
Location	Miami, Florida
MVP	Raghib Ismail (Notre Dame WR); Darian Hagan (Colorado QB)
Favorite	Notre Dame by 2 points
Referee	Dayle Phillips (ACC)
Attendance	81,190
United States TV coverage
Network	NBC
Announcers	Dick Enberg, Bill Walsh
Orange Bowl
< 1989	1991 >

The 1990 Orange Bowl was the 56th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1989–90 bowl game season, it matched the independent and fourth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the undefeated #1 Colorado Buffaloes of the Big Eight Conference.^[1]

Slightly favored,^[1]^[2] Notre Dame won 21–6.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Teams

Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish won their first eleven games but lost 27–10 at new rival Miami in late November,^[7]^[8] which snapped a 23-game winning streak and dropped them from first to fourth in the rankings.

Colorado

The Buffaloes won all eleven games in the regular season and were ranked first in both polls.

Game summary

Televised by NBC, the game kicked off minutes after 8 p.m. EST, shortly after the start of the Sugar Bowl on ABC, which matched #2 Miami and #7 Alabama.^[9]

The first half was scoreless. Notre Dame led 14–6 after three quarters, and spoiled a championship season for the Buffaloes with a 21–6 victory.^[3]^[4]^[5] This allowed Sugar Bowl winner Miami to take the national championship, with Notre Dame as runner-up.^[10]

Scoring

First quarter: No scoring
Second quarter: No scoring
Third quarter

Notre Dame – Anthony Johnson 2-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick)
Notre Dame – Raghib Ismail 35-yard run (Hentrich kick)
Colorado – Darian Hagan 39-yard run (kick failed)

Fourth quarter

Notre Dame – Johnson 7-yard run (Hentrich kick)

Source:^[3]^[4]^[5]

Statistics

Statistics	Notre Dame	Colorado
First Downs	18	16
Rushes–yards	52–279	46–217
Passing yards	99	65
Passes (C–A–I)	6–9–0	4–13–2
Total Offense	61–378	59–282
Return yards	0	36
Punts–average	5–40	3–39
Fumbles–lost	0–0	1–1
Turnovers	0	3
Penalties-yards	3–35	1–5
Time of possession	32:43	27:17

Source:^[3]^[4]^[5]

Aftermath

The loss by Colorado opened up the national championship for Miami, but several analysts/pollsters felt that Notre Dame was also worthy of the title. Notre Dame and Miami had lost one game and Notre Dame had played a much more difficult schedule. However, the head-to-head matchup proved too much to overcome as Miami was voted number one in both final polls; Notre Dame was second (third in Coaches poll), and Colorado slipped to fourth.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Overcoming Orange Bowl jinx might be key to national title". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 1, 1990. p. 28.
^ ^a ^b "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1990. p. 37.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gugger, John (January 2, 1990). "Debate heated over No.1: Irish topple Colorado". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). p. 21.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Warner, Rick (January 2, 1990). "Irish 'Rocket' past No. 1 Buffs". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. B1.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Collier, Gene (January 2, 1990). "Colorado lets its chance slip away". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
^ Murphy, Austin (January 8, 1990). "An Irish rebuff". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
^ Wojciekowski, Gene (November 26, 1989). "Irish eyes aren't smiling now". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). {Los Angeles Times). p. 1C.
^ Murphy, Austin (December 4, 1989). "No. 1 no more". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
^ "Sports menu: TV highlights". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 1, 1990. p. C4.
^ Orange Bowl

[jinxbrk-1] "Overcoming Orange Bowl jinx might be key to national title". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 1, 1990. p. 28.

[latln-2] "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1990. p. 37.

[ttplco-3] Gugger, John (January 2, 1990). "Debate heated over No.1: Irish topple Colorado". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). p. 21.

[rpnobf-4] Warner, Rick (January 2, 1990). "Irish 'Rocket' past No. 1 Buffs". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. B1.

[ppltchslp-5] Collier, Gene (January 2, 1990). "Colorado lets its chance slip away". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.

[sivirrbf-6] Murphy, Austin (January 8, 1990). "An Irish rebuff". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.

[nosilg-7] Wojciekowski, Gene (November 26, 1989). "Irish eyes aren't smiling now". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). {Los Angeles Times). p. 1C.

[sivnomo-8] Murphy, Austin (December 4, 1989). "No. 1 no more". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.

[tvhigh-9] "Sports menu: TV highlights". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 1, 1990. p. C4.

[10] Orange Bowl

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v t e Orange Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History Miami Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Atlantic Coast Conference Big Ten Conference Southeastern Conference Notre Dame
Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 (January) 1996 (December) 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (January) 2014 (December) 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 (January) 2021 (December) 2022 2023
Notes	The game was also the national title game (Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series) in 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2005. There was an Orange Bowl in January and December in 1996, 2014, and 2021. The 2015, 2018, and 2021 (December) editions were College Football Playoff semifinals.