Will It Be Decided On The Field 35 Years Later

Before the advent of the BCS and CFP championships, national champions were determined by human vote: a media collection of writers and broadcasters for the Associated Press, and Division I head coaches for United Press International.

The AP began its poll in 1936, but didn't ask for the voting to take place after bowl games until 1968; UPI started its in 1950, including postseason games for the first time in 1974. By the time the BCS championship game came into being in 2006, there were 11 occasions where they were split-national champions between the media and coaches voting. The final time that occurred was for the 2003 season, when LSU and Oklahoma each grabbed a share of the title.

That was the case in 1990: Colorado (11-1-1) and Georgia Tech (11-0-1) shared the title of the two main selectors. Though a case can easily be made that the Buffaloes were the consensus national champions: CU topped 11 polls recognized by the NCAA (AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Football News, Football Research, FWAA, Matthews, NFF, Sporting News, USAT/CNN), Georgia Tech bested three (Dunkel, Sagarin and UPI/Coaches) and Miami one (New York Times computer, as if that one ever mattered). CU and Tech tied by the National Championship Foundation.

Of course, through the years, fan bases of both teams have vehemently defended their cases that they should be the true national titlists for the 1990 season. Tech fans points to CU's blemishes (the Fifth Down game at Missouri, the Notre Dame punt return in the Orange Bowl negated by penalty), while CU fans point to Colorado's much tougher schedule, a tougher bowl opponent and overcoming two significant injuries in the latter.

So let's compare the '90 schedules of both; the Buffaloes had an extra game as they opened the season in Anaheim in the Disneyland Pigskin Classic against Tennessee (opponents' final records in parenthesis):

COLORADO (11-1-1)
# 8 Tennessee (9-2-2)	T	31-31
STANFORD (5-6)	W	21-17
at #21 Illinois (8-4)	L	22-23
at #22 Texas (10-2)	W	29-22
#12 WASHINGTON (10-2)	W	20-14
at Missouri (4-7)	W	33-31
IOWA STATE (4-6-1)	W	28-12
at Kansas (3-7-1)	W	41-10
#22 OKLAHOMA (8-3)	W	32-23
at # 3 Nebraska (9-3)	W	27-12
OKLAHOMA STATE (4-7)	W	41-10
KANSAS STATE (5-6)	W	64- 3
Orange Bowl
# 5 Notre Dame (9-3)	W	10- 9

GEORGIA TECH (11-0-1)
N.C. STATE (7-5)	W	21-13
UT-CHATTANOOGA (6-5)	W	44- 9
#25 SOUTH CAROLINA (6-6)	W	27- 6
at Maryland (6-5-1)	W	31- 3
#15 CLEMSON (10-2)	W	21-19
at North Carolina (6-4-1)	T	13-13
DUKE (4-7)	W	48-31
at # 1 Virginia (8-4)	W	41-38
VIRGINIA TECH (6-5)	W	6- 3
at Wake Forest (3-8)	W	42- 7
at Georgia (4-7)	W	40-23
Citrus Bowl
#19 Nebraska (9-3)	W	45-21

CU after opening the season ranked No. 5, dropped as far as No. 20 after its 1-1-1 start, and was still 20th after its night game win at Texas. Georgia Tech was unranked the preseason, appearing 23rd after its 3-0 start. CU's biggest jump was from 20th to 12th after the Washington win, while Tech zoomed from 16th to seventh after winning at No. 1 Virginia. Both teams inched up incrementally, as both the ACC and Big Eight weren't at their strongest, finishing with just three teams winning eight or more game for the year.

In the end, Colorado played what was determined to be the nation's toughest schedule, joining the 1982 Penn State team as the only ones at the time to do so and win the national championship. The Buffaloes played three conference champions: Texas and Washington outright, Illinois tied (with Tennessee, Oklahoma and Nebraska finishing as league runner-up's; Notre Dame of course, was an independent). Georgia Tech played two league runners-up in Clemson and Nebraska, but had one of its wins against I-AA UT-Chattanooga.

Both teams derailed others' seasons and subsequent championship dreams, games on the road on November 3 against undefeated foes: No. 16 Tech visiting No. 1 and 7-0 Virginia, the No. 9 Buffs traveling to Lincoln to square off against 8-0 and No. 3 Nebraska. And both had to rally from two scores behind in the second half: Tech fell behind 13-0 and still trailed 28-14 in the third quarter before winning, 41-38, on a 37-yard Scott Sisson field goal with :07 left in the game. Buffalo fans remember that day in Lincoln, in the cold, wind and rain when Eric Bieniemy fumbled four times in the first three quarters, after which CU trailed 12-0, but he would redeem himself by scoring four touchdowns in the fourth quarter, paving the way to a 27-12 Buff victory.

After the polls were shaken up a week earlier (eight top 20 teams lost), four top nine teams lost that Saturday, as in addition to UVA and Nebraska falling 10 spots each, so did Auburn (from No. 4 to 15th) and Illinois (from No. 5 to 17th) drop dramatically. As a result, CU climbed to No. 4, Georgia Tech zooming into the No. 7 slot. And the Cavaliers and the Cornhuskers? They finished a combined 2-7, dropping to No. 23 and No. 24, respectively.

CU dominated Oklahoma State and Kansas State at Folsom Field in its final two games, while Tech slipped past Virginia Tech in a windy home affair before shellacking Wake Forest and Georgia both on the road.

After the regular season, Colorado was No. 1 in both the Associated Press and UPI/Coaches polls; Tech No. 2 in both. CU had the edge in first place votes (42-16 in the AP, 38-7 in the UPI), but a quirk was while the AP demanded to have all 60 of its voters cast their ballots weekly, UPI was roughshod over the entire year: its 59 coaches voted only in the final poll, whereas in the last regular season ballot, only 47 voted. CU had a 79-point lead entering bowl season in the AP tally and won by 34 after the bowl games (39-20 edge in first place votes), and in the coaches polling, the Buffs led by 54 points and of course were topped by the Yellow Jackets by a single point come January 2 (Tech had 30 first place tallies, CU 27).

So how did Georgia Tech close the gap and pop over the Buffaloes to claim half the national championship? Likely on New Year's Day. Both teams had a tie as a blemish – CU's at a neutral site and Tech's on the road – and the Fifth Down CU endured at Missouri settled down after most finally realized it wasn't Colorado's doing – the home team fouled up the count on the scoreboard and down marker, and the media got it in their heads that CU wouldn't spike the ball had it known it was fourth down.

The Yellow Jackets 45-21 rout of a Nebraska team in the daytime Citrus Bowl – despite the Huskers minus four players due to suspensions and being demoralized coming off a 45-10 drilling to rival Oklahoma, was likely more impressive to the coaches than CU's slim 10-9 margin over Notre Dame in a game that ended after midnight. It apparently didn't matter to some that in an old school defensive battle, Colorado beat a Notre Dame team that had been No. 1 seven weeks earlier despite losing starting quarterback Darian Hagan and outside linebacker Kanavis McGhee to first half knee injuries. Who knows how those 12 coaches that missed the final regular season vote would have voted? Could Tech be on CU's heels or even ahead?

A few polls came out immediately declaring that Colorado was No. 1. But the UPI/Coaches poll, coordinated by Jeff Shain, wasn't coming out until much later the next day. The team planes weren't scheduled to depart Miami until mid-afternoon, and I called Jeff to see where we stood. There were still several coaches who hadn't voted yet. So we land in Denver around 7 p.m., and I immediately went to a pay phone to call Jeff (no cell phones then). That's when I got the bad news: Georgia Tech had edged us by a single point – and guess who had to waltz over to Coach McCartney at baggage claim to deliver the bad news? Mac was indignant to say the least, told me, "That's not right! (get back on the phone) and tell UPI to have the coaches re-vote!" Well, that wasn't going to happen.

NBC's Bob Costas had this to say following the game.

There are a lot of Colorado fans who refuse to relinquish the moment … trying to celebrate a victory that almost certainly secures the national championship for the Colorado Buffaloes. There will be a protest or two from fans of Georgia Tech, after all they're the only major team without a defeat. But they began the day at No. 2, Colorado began it at No. 1. Colorado beat a tougher opponent. Colorado deserves the national championship."

This last Tuesday, USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer got Nebraska coach Tom Osborne to finally admit something we pretty much had known – he voted Georgia Tech number one; he didn't disclose where he ranked Colorado. Osborne cited the fifth down at Missouri (and once again, had we known it was fourth down, Charles Johnson would have run a play instead of spiking the ball, but apparently that escapes the logic for many), along with the margin of defeat to CU and Tech – without noting we won in Lincoln, in the cold, wind and rain, and Tech won at a neutral site in good weather. Oh, and the fact that his team was likely demoralized after losing to CU and then getting clobbered by Oklahoma to end the regular season and any national championship dreams of their own. And not to mention they suspended several players for the bowl.

Osborne had a right to his opinion, of course. But what rankled us at the time was the Nebraska's athletic director, the late Bob Devaney, made a plea to the conference coaches who had a vote to support fellow league schools in the polls. Guess that only applied to the Cornhuskers.

After the shock of not sweeping the two major polls, McCartney took the high road.

"I'd like to congratulate Bobby Ross and his program for the extraordinary season and the decisive win over Nebraska," he said. "Certainly they can make a strong case on their own behalf."

The top 10 in each final poll; note how the AP awarded points on a 25-24-23-22-21-20-etc. basis, while for whatever reason, UPI only did so on a 15-14-13-12-11-10-etc. format.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rk (FPV)	Team	Record	Points
1	Colorado (39)	11-1-1	1,475
2	Georgia Tech (20)	11-0-1	1,441
3	Miami-Fla. (1)	10-2-0	1,388
4	Florida State	10-2-0	1,303
5	Washington	10-2-0	1,246
6	Notre Dame	9-3-0	1,179
7	Michigan	9-3-0	1,025
8	Tennessee	9-2-2	993
9	Clemson	10-2-0	950
10	Houston	10-1-0	940

UPI/COACHES
Rk (FPV)	Record	Record	Points
1	Georgia Tech (30)	11-0-1	847
2	Colorado (27)	11-1-1	846
3	Miami-Fla. (2)	10-2-0	763
4	Florida State	10-2-0	677
5	Notre Dame	9-3-0	664
6	Washington	10-2-0	548
7	Tennessee	9-2-2	449
8	Michigan	9-3-0	426
9	Clemson	10-2-0	420
10	Penn State	9-3-0	301

Post-Facts: Colorado finished 5-1-1 against ranked teams, Georgia Tech 4-0 when they played; in the final poll, CU had faced four in the top 11, Tech none … The Buff opponents finished 77-47-3, not including their results against CU, while Tech's 11 Division-I foes finished 69-45-1 … Eventually, 21 Buffaloes from the 1990 team were selected in the next four NFL Drafts (nine seniors in '91 alone), there were 11 Yellow Jackets plucked in the selections, two in '91).

So you decide: does Saturday's game settle the feud from after the 1990 season, or will it carry over into next year's rematch in Atlanta on Sept. 5?

The 1990 Buffaloes
Head Coach: Bill McCartney. Assistant Coaches: Gerry DiNardo (OC/TE), Mike Hankwitz (DC/DB), Gary Barnett (QB/FB), Mike Barry (OL), Brian Cabral (ILB), Don Frease (WR), Oliver Lucas (RB), Bob Simmons (OLB), Ron Vanderlinden (DL). Usual Lineup: Offense (I-bone)—WR Mike Pritchard/Rico Smith, LT Ariel Solomon, LG Joe Garten, C Jay Leeuwenburg, RG Russ Heasley/Bryan Campbell, RT Mark VanderPoel, TE Jon Boman/Sean Brown, QB Darian Hagan/Charles Johnson, FB George Hemingway, WB Michael Simmons, TB Eric Bieniemy. Defense (3-4)—OLB Alfred Williams, LT Leonard Renfro/Marcellous Elder, NT Joel Steed, RT Garry Howe, OLB Kanavis McGhee, ILB Greg Biekert, ILB Chad Brown/Terry Johnson, LC Dave McCloughan, SS Tim James, FS Greg Thomas, RC Deon Figures. Specialists—PK Jim Harper, P Tom Rouen, PR McCloughan, KOR Pritchard, LS Chris O'Donnell.

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