The 1990 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season . Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors , in his 14th year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee . They finished the season with a record of nine wins, two losses, and two ties (9–2–2 overall, 5–1–1 in the SEC). Although the Volunteers finished second in standings, Florida was ruled ineligible on NCAA probation, and Tennessee was awarded the SEC Championship and the conference's Sugar Bowl bid , which they used to defeat Virginia . The Volunteers offense scored 465 points while the defense allowed 220 points.
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source August 26 3:00 p.m. vs. No. 5 Colorado * No. 8 NBC T 31–3133,458 [ 1]
September 1 4:00 p.m. Pacific (CA) * No. 8 PPV W 55–794,467 [ 2]
September 8 12:30 p.m. at Mississippi State No. 8 TBS W 40–732,114 [ 3]
September 15 1:00 p.m. UTEP * No. 7 Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN W 56–095,203 [ 4]
September 29 7:30 p.m. at No. 3 Auburn No. 5 ESPN T 26–2685,214 [ 5]
October 13 7:30 p.m. No. 9 Florida No. 5 Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry ) ESPN W 45–396,874 [ 6]
October 20 4:00 p.m. Alabama No. 3 ESPN L 6–996,732 [ 7]
November 3 1:00 p.m. Temple * No. 11 Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN PPV W 41–2093,898 [ 8]
November 10 2:30 p.m. No. 1 Notre Dame * No. 9 Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN CBS L 29–3497,123 [ 9]
November 17 3:30 p.m. vs. No. 15 Ole Miss No. 14 CBS W 22–1366,467 [ 10]
November 24 1:30 p.m. Kentucky No. 14 Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry ) TBS W 42–2892,243 [ 11]
December 1 2:30 p.m. at Vanderbilt No. 12 PPV W 49–2041,492 [ 12]
January 1 8:30 p.m. vs. Virginia * No. 10 ABC W 23–2275,132 [ 13]
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
[ 14]
1990 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
K
Greg Burke
P
Joey Chapman
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Team players drafted into the NFL
edit
^ "Vols tie up Buffs" . News Chronicle . August 27, 1990. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Vols show UOP no mercy" . The Modesto Bee . September 2, 1990. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Vols destroy Bulldogs 40–7" . Bristol Herald Courier . September 9, 1990. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Tennessee manhandles UTEP, 56–0" . The El Paso Times . September 16, 1990. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Auburn's late rally Tennessee's missed kick produce tie" . The Kansas City Star . September 30, 1990. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Volunteers explode past Gators, 45–3" . The Greenville News . October 14, 1990. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Crimson Tide does it again" . Johnson City Press . October 21, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Tennessee routs Temple; Baker leaves with injury" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . November 4, 1990. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Notre Dame, Watters in flow" . Chicago Tribune . November 11, 1990. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Patient Vols wear down Rebs" . The Commercial Appeal . November 18, 1990. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Vols top Kentucky" . Johnson City Press . November 25, 1990. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Vols rally for victory, SEC crown" . The Knoxville News-Sentinel . December 2, 1990. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Cavaliers fade down stretch" . The Roanoke Times & World-News . January 2, 1991. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "1990 Tennessee Volunteers Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2023 .
^ "1991 NFL Draft" . Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2012 .