1990 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

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]}.

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

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• 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)