By Dustin Hollinger

If you believe 1990 was pivotal year that forever changed college football, you’re correct. There’s more to this than the top 25 polls. Up until 1989 The AP and Coaches Poll agreed on crowning  the national champion 27 of 32 occurrences. Then 1990 came and it imploded. What caused it? After all things went back to normal the following year in the sense when Miami, FL and Washington shared the national championship there was little complaint.

Prior to the 2014  CFP creation, there was split national champions in 1991, 1997 and in the “BCS era” in 2003.

The prestigious Sugar, Cotton and Orange Bowls were like hot dogs, they taste good and we don’t need to know what goes into them. Before I elaborate, I feel the need to imitate the narrator from the show Wonder Years.

The year was 1990 , we just exited the 80’s. The 1980’s was a non-stop party and when  1990 rolled in we got the bill for it. That caused a brief recession that was so minor it’s hardly remembered. The world watched the powerful Russian- controlled USSR disintegrated into a chaotic impoverished undeveloped country. That year had its share of chaos and panic. United States was about to go to war with Iraq.

That put many in distress over the fear it would be the next Vietnam. Besides the intrepidation over geopolitics there were scandals in the music industry.

On the grounds of violating obscenity laws a record store owner was arrested for selling the federal banned 2 Live Crew album ” As Nasty As We Want To Be”. Technotronic known for #1 song “Pump Up The Jam”, fixture in commercials and basketball games. The Lady on the album cover wasn’t a part of the group. She was an African model that didn’t speak English. That was discovered when there were ‘irregularities” as she preformed. Fortunately, for Technotronic by November the infamous Milli Vanilli scandal came to light. Def Jams though they found the next chart topping white “novelty” rapper from Detroit.

 By December Vanilla Ice and SBK Records were pointing the finger at each other over whom manufactured his “ghetto street” background. That prompted Def Jams to look into Kid Rock’s background. They were stunned that he wasn’t from Detroit, but grew up in a mansion an hour away. His dad owned two car dealerships and his mom was a college cheerleader. Def Jams basically told Kid Rock “you where never here” and quickly cut ties.

Finally, there was Madonna’s “Justify My Love” music video that showcased same gender eroticism, voyeurs, brief semi nudity and sadomasochism. That video cased panic and societal distress.”

The chaos in geopolitics and scandal in pop music reached into college football as the polls, bowls and Heisman Trophy came into question. Before the polls we’re going down the bowls rabbit holes (plural). The Fiesta Bowl had successfully staged a “national championship” bowl in 1986 and 1989 by matching up the two top teams. In 1990 they were struggling and  pleading not to have their game cancelled. The Fiesta Bowl was turning into the “Siesta Bowl” as Pennsylvania State, Virginia, Notre Dame and others rejected their invitation over Arizona State Government not recognizing MLK holiday. November 1990 the Arizona voters rejected in making MLK a holiday, thus reaffirming what they’re state congress did. The Fiesta Bowl contingency plan was to move the game to San Diego. The NCAA rejected that proposal because San Diego had the Holiday Bowl. Huston and Florida were suggested as

alternative locations. Virginia accepted the Sugar Bowl instead . Sugar Bowl payout was $3.25 million compared to Fiesta Bowl $2.55  and New Orleans was closer than Phoenix. Sugar Bowl’s  early November paring #11 Virginia and the SEC champion seemed to make sense. Despite the the challenges and short time window the Fiesta Bowl did an outstanding job of avoiding cancellation. Fiesta Bowl committee pledged a $100,000 to each school’s minority scholarships and their halftime show was efficiency planned. The HT show struck the perfect balance between civil rights and patriotism over the impending Iraq war. The show’s theme honored America historical figures: Presidents Lincoln, Kennedy and Dr. Martin King. 

The game matched #16 Louisville (9-1-1)  Coach by Howard Schnellenberger, who was hoping to start a national champion dynasty like he did in Miami, FL  and #25 Alabama (7-4) coached by Gene Stallings, who was planning on returning Alabama to their halcyon days of the 50’s- 70’s.

Despite the Bowl over saturation problem, they make college football unique among all other pro and amateur sports. For decades a bowl game was the ultimate goal for nearly every team. What’s not to love? Teams get rewarded for a good season with a week long trip to a exotic location or a major cosmopolitan city that includes, eating a word class restaurants, visiting theme parks and beaches, local attractions/ land marks,shopping sprees, marching band rallies, bowl parade, partying on yachts and luncheons, ect. The winners receive bowl champion rings and the school gets a  trophy .The bowl host city opens up to the participants and treat them like Super Bowl royalty. Through out the week cheerful bowl ambassadors wearing bowl theme colored pants, jackets and skirts, (their attire resembles real estate agents) periodically checking in making sure everyone is having fun.

Most years, the teams expected to win did so up until season’s end. This enabled the Major New Year’s Bowls to make mid season secret backroom pacts with desirable teams. Just like 1990 exposed the music industry, it would do the same to the bowl games. When something seemed off with the Technotronic “singer”, the same was with the bowl pairings. As it turned out the New Year’s Bowls had picked their fruit before it was ripe and yes that’s a pun.

Notre Dame’s October 20 win over defending national champion Miami had them on the top of the Citrus Bowl wish list. Whenever a guy wants to” move up ” the social hierarchy the best way is to take the most coveted girl to the dance.

That’s what the Citrus Bowl was attempting by publicly pursuing Notre Dame. If the Citrus Bowl could make Notre Dame  their New Year’s date for the national championship, that  could be enough to put the Citrus Bowl up on bowl games “Mount Rushmore” next to the coveted group of the Rose, Cotton, Orange and Sugar Bowls. It worked for the Fiesta Bowl so why not the Citrus?

That year Citrus Bowl locked in the Athletic Conference Champion. If #1 Virginia wins out then it would be them. After the Miami game Notre Dame had risen to #2. After attempting this four years earlier, This Orlando based bowl was thinking  “maybe just maybe we’ll get a  another chance to stage a de facto national championship game.”

 Orlando City was behind it as they wanted to raise their city sports profile , with the hopes of landing a future MLB franchise. In order to make this quixotic plan work Citrus Bowl Executive Director Chuck Rohe (who was at the Miami- Notre Dame game) said ” We would have to increase our $1.3  million payout per team to $3 million.” He felt confident he could get the “Orlando Corporations to come up with the money”

Doesn’t this sound like the NIL Collectives ruling college sports today?  This sounded outrageous but given the topsy- turvy events throughout the 1990 season and given Notre Dame’s preference of playing in different bowl games it was possible. During the week of October 20 turned out Orange Bowl gave Notre Dame a invite. This seemed like a wise move because #2 Nebraska was on track to win the Big 8 , thus qualifying them for the Orange Bowl and a likely ” national championship ” game. October 20 became known as “Bloody Saturday” because eight teams lost were eliminated from national title race. Bloody Saturday was so popular it had to make a sequel as the following week

#1 Virginia lost their following game on the last play to Georgia Tech. Then #2 Nebraska, #4 Auburn and #6 Illinois lost. After Colorado beat #2 Nebraska they rose to #4 and took Nebraska’s Big 8 champion spot, thus setting up a “national championship ” vs. new #1 Notre Dame. Just like the Orange Bowl had orchestrated in for the 1971,1983, 1985 and 1987 seasons. Soon as the Cotton Bowl gave a early invite to #4 Miami (FL). All #3 Texas had to do is win the South West Conference for the Cotton Bowl to be  thinking that the National Championship can be won at their site  for the first time since the 1977 season. For that to happen Notre Dame would have to deny Colorado a national championship for the second consecutive year and #13 Nebraska (9-2) would have to beat #2 Georgia Tech (10-0-1) at the Citrus Bowl. That didn’t seem unreasonable how the 1990 season was unfolding. Texas’s Cotton Bowl loss denied this bowl the chance to crown a national champion on their field.

Soon as #1 Notre Dame was given their golden ticket to the Orange Bowl they blew a two touchdown lead and lost to Penn State. Maybe if #7 Virginia were to beat Maryland (6-5-1) and Virginia Tech(6-5) then perhaps the Sugar Bowl could have the national champion won at their game just like the 1973,1978 and 1982 seasons. Not unreasonable how this topsy -turvy was unfolding . Sugar Bowl ended up with Virginia (8-3) and Tennessee (8-2-2). Instead of a “national championship” bowl, the Sugar Bowl became a punch line.

 Sugar Bowl quickly pointed out that their game paired up the #4 and #7 scoring offenses. Fans and media didn’t accept that fact. To be honest, Tennessee and Virginia deserved to be in a Louisiana Bowl game- in Shreveport.

 Given all the Sugar Bowl’s memorable moments and direct foundation to the college football playoff (decades before it’s existence), the 1991 Sugar Bowl is revered as a dud. #2 Georgia Tech(10-0-1) won the ACC , that sent them to the Citrus Bowl. The Citrus Bowl was obviously thinking “maybe we’ll get a national champion at our site after all!” These two dark horses( GT and Citrus Bowl) were a  perfect match for each other.

The Rose Bowl’s anachronistic tradition of inviting the Pac-10 and Big Ten Champions protected them from the season’s chaos. It was up to the Big Ten to figure out whom their four co- champions will be sent to “The Grand Daddy of Them All.”

When it was revealed the major New Year’s Day bowl games were set a month in advance the curtain was ripped open and the secret mid season back room deals were revealed. As I mentioned earlier, the bowl games are like hot dogs. They taste good and we don’t need to know how they’re made.

Only if Huston (10-1) and top SEC team Florida (9-2) weren’t on post season bans, it would have helped the bowl section committees. Not this time , the atrocities were exposed.

New Year’s Day 1991 ended up Rose Bowl #7 Washington (10-2) defeating #17 Iowa (8-4) 46-34. For most of that game it wasn’t that close. Iowa scored 20 fourth quarter points to make it look respectable. For the Citrus Bowl #2 Georgia Tech (11-0-1) beat #13 Nebraska (9-3) 45-21. Georgia Tech wasn’t sure if this blow out was enough and were pining for a Notre Dame upset. Then in the Cotton Bowl #4 Miami, FL(10-2)  blew out #Texas(10-2) 46-3.Through  out this game Miami set the Cotton Bowl record for 16 penalties for 202 yards. At one point due to the unsportsmanlike penalties Miami started at 1st and 40!  For the night cap the Orange Bowl featured #1 Colorado (11-1-1) over #5 Notre Dame (9-3) 10-9, that included a blocked extra point.

 Some feel Notre Dame Wing Back Rocket Ismail got robbed twice during the season.Once at the Hiesman ceremony and at the Orange Bowl  on the clipping penalty that overturned his 91 yard TD  punt return. Prior to the penalty the set up couldn’t better for a movie or to live on in sports lore: Final minute, down by 1 point and the opportunity to make a play for a lifetime. Had instant replay challenges existed back then there will be a great chance the call would’ve been overturned. It will be great to get the referee’s perspective on that call today. Now came the poll chaos. During the post game Colorado players wore “1990 National Champions Shirts” and GT fans were wearing the same.

Even the Citrus Bowl got into the debate. After the game, Citrus Bowl Stadium score board posted “Georgia Tech 1990 National Champions”. That was a testament how bad this bowl wanted it. Perhaps as much as Georgia Tech.

The season was over. Now it was time for Colorado (11-1-1) and Georgia Tech (11-0-1) to plead to the top 25 voters in the same fashion a candidate would do on election day.

Colorado pointed to their rigours schedule that included wins oven then #20 Texas, #12 Washington,#2 Nebraska, #22 Oklahoma and #5 Notre Dame. In my opinion, Colorado “fifth down” argument should be dismissed because  Colorado wouldn’t never spiked the ball on 4th down.

 Georgia Tech pointed out they’re the only undefeated team. They beat then #1 Virginia, #14 Clemson, #13 Nebraska and # 25 South Carolina. Nearly every one treated Georgia Tech’s tie as a loss and Colorado’s tie was really mentioned. Both coaches said its nearly impossible for the #1 team who won their bowl not go on to be selected national champion.

When asked about a playoff, Colorado Coach Bill McCartney supported it. During the Citrus Bowl post game GT Coach Bobby Ross was asked how to fix this debate. He said ” a national championship after the bowls. ” Then asked if he’s willing to play Colorado? He replied ” give me a week to prepare. ” In a season full of surprises these two kept winning until the end. Prognosticators felt in order for GT to have a chance to win the national championship they will need to win their bowl and have Colorado lose theirs. A few said Miami (10-2) could repeat as national champions with a Colorado bowl loss.

The morning of January 2 ,1991 Colorado was crowned National Champions by the AP Poll. One Denver sports caster said ” the AP poll is the only one that matters and the Coaches Poll is the inferior one. ” Seems to me this haughty sports journalist was attempting to elevate Colorado in case of a split national championship. In the mist of attempting to “force” a national championship match up, the Orange and Citrus Bowls got what they aspired- a national championship won at their site.

As mentioned earlier, I was fascinated how the Citrus and Orange Bowls went about planning a potential national championship. One did it in private and the other public. In the end it worked well for both of them.

This was sweet poetic justice for the Citrus Bowl because four years earlier they were set to host a ” national championship ” bowl with #1 Miami and #2 Penn St. This game was moved to the Fiesta Bowl at the last moment.

The Fiesta Bowl payout was $2.4 million compared to The Citrus Bowl $1 million. Furthermore, Pennsylvania State wanted a fair natural site compared to Orlando in what would’ve been a glorified home game for Miami.

The evening of January 2, The Coaches Poll awarded Georgia Tech the national championship.  Atlanta locals were asked which poll is more legitimate? They obviously replied “The Coaches.” Their justification was the Coaches Poll is decided by the coaches and they have more expertise.”

So, this long time debate resumed, which poll is better? A coach asked journalist Joe Posnanski ” how is it possible for sports writers rate college football teams?” “What do they know about football?” “have they ever played or coached?” All they do is set in a press box eat catered lunches ,watch a few highlights and look at stats. How could you possibly vote for the national champion?”

He countered ” how can coaches vote? You guys obviously don’t know anything about other teams from other conferences. You can even tell us about your next opponent until Tuesday when you have the chance to study them. You have personal bias about certain coaches. There’s always stories that coaches don’t vote themselves; they have their sports information directors vote.  Maryland Jerry Claiborne said his wife did the voting. “His wife knows more about football that any sports writer” the coach said.

 He replied “If coaches are so smart about football, they might be able to tell us something about the game instead of saying ” I need to look at the film.”

Had GT and Colorado played, I believe GT would have won  but Colorado would’ve made them pay for it with their physical smash month play.  Miami Coach Dennis Erickson said “it can get botched if the bowl parings are set too early.” He wanted to play in the Orange Bowl-  Miami’s home stadium. Had that happened Miami likely dominated Georgia Tech the same way they did to Texas. Washington and Miami were so dominate it’s difficult to comprehend how they both lost twice. The following year they both came back with a vengeance.

Georgia Tech 1990 is viewed the same way Central Florida was in 2017. Yeah you’re undefeated but you played a zero “soft schedule” in a “soft conference” ( Atlantic Coast and American Athletic Conferences).

 Be happy to have a bowl trophy in your left hand and a conference champion trophy in your right. I believe had Miami (10-2) won a share of the national championship instead of Georgia Tech (11-0-1) then there wouldn’t be the serve demand for swift change.

Perhaps it was fear and paranoia that caused the Cotton , Sugar and Orange Bowls to act prematurely. When news broke over the mid season bowl pairings a anonymous Orange Bowl official said “Notre Dame brings tv ratings. If you don’t take Notre Dame then they might play in the Sugar Bowl in the same time slot.”

It’s interesting that NBC broadcast the Orange Bowl and in September 1991 they became the exclusive broadcasters for Notre Dame home games.

Its understandable if the networks got in the ears of the bowl committees because ratings is television’s air, water and life blood.

 Back when Milli Vanilli lip sync scandal broke Frank Farian (who orchestrated this whole schem) allowed  Milli Vanilli take the fall. When Milli Vanilli were viewed as frauds and jesters, Frank Farian quickly exited the situation and went on with his life as Milli Vanilli paid dearly.

Could the same be true with the networks and bowl selection committees, Who knows?