1990 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1990 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Liberty Bowl, L 11-23 vs. Air Force
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record7–4–1 (5–2–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJim Colletto (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorBill Young (3rd season)
MVPJeff Graham
Captains
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
1990 Big Ten Conference football standings
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
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 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]

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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 83:30 p.m.Texas Tech*No. 18ABCW 17–1088,707
September 1512:00 p.m.at Boston College*No. 17JPSW 31–1032,432
September 293:30 p.m.No. 18 USC*No. 15
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ABCL 26–3589,422
October 63:30 p.m.No. 13 IllinoisNo. 20
ABCL 20–3189,404
October 1312:30 p.m.at No. 22 IndianaESPNT 27–2752,080
October 202:00 p.m.at PurdueW 42–257,031
October 271:30 p.m.Minnesota
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 52–2389,688
November 31:30 p.m.Northwestern
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
W 48–789,177
November 1012:00 p.m.at No. 6 IowaABCW 27–2670,033
November 172:00 p.m.at WisconsinNo. 21W 35–1041,403
November 2412:00 p.m.No. 15 MichiganNo. 19
ABCL 13–1690,054
December 277:00 p.m.vs. Air Force*No. 24ESPNL 11–2339,262
  • *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 234Total
Texas Tech 0 370 10
• Ohio St 0 0107 17

[7]

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 34Total
Ohio St 0 14 01327
Iowa 7 10 3626

at Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa

Game information

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
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Awards and honors

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

[9]

References

  1. ^ "1990 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "1990 Ohio State Buckeyes Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  3. ^ "Hawks dominate AP's All-Big Ten" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 28, 1990. p. 1B.
  4. ^ "Leaders dominate AP All-Big Ten team". The Daily Reporter. November 28, 1990. p. 6.
  5. ^ "Michigan, Iowa tops in balloting". The Argus-Press (AP story). November 27, 1990. p. 9.
  6. ^ Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.
  7. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1990 Sept 9.
  8. ^ "Flashback: Ohio State Stuns Iowa in 1990 to End the Hawkeyes' National Championship Hopes". Eleven Warriors. November 3, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  9. ^ "1991 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2007.