1990 Virginia Cavaliers football team
| 1990 Virginia Cavaliers football | |
|---|---|
Sugar Bowl, L 23–22 vs. Tennessee | |
| Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 15 |
| AP | No. 23 |
| Record | 8–4 (5–2 ACC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Gary Tranquill (4th season) |
| Offensive scheme | I formation |
| Defensive coordinator | Frank Spaziani (4th season) |
| Base defense | 5–2 |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Scott Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Georgia Tech $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Clemson | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1990 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by ninth-year head coach George Welsh, the Cavaliers compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 5–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the ACC. Virginia was invited to the Sugar Bowl, where the Cavaliers lost to Tennessee. The Cavaliers offense scored 464 points while the defense allowed 227 points. The team played home games at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The 1990 Virginia team is noteworthy for having achieved a No. 1 national ranking in the AP poll for two weeks during the season, starting on October 16 of that year and ending with a loss to Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers held the nation's top spot through the poll of October 30, but losses in three of four games left them unranked in the AP poll by the end of the regular season. It was the first time in the program's history that Virginia had ever earned the No. 1 ranking.