1990 Orange Bowl

Part of the 1989–90 bowl game season, it matched the independent and fourth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the undefeated #1 Colorado Buffaloes of the Big Eight Conference.

Slightly favored, Notre Dame won 21–6.

Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish won their first eleven games but lost 27–10 at new rival Miami in late November, which snapped a 23-game winning streak and dropped them from first to fourth in the rankings.

Colorado

The Buffaloes won all eleven games in the regular season and were ranked first in both polls.

Televised by NBC, the game kicked off minutes after 8 p.m. EST, shortly after the start of the Sugar Bowl on ABC, which matched #2 Miami and #7 Alabama.

The first half was scoreless. Notre Dame led 14–6 after three quarters, and spoiled a championship season for the Buffaloes with a 21–6 victory. This allowed Sugar Bowl winner Miami to take the national championship, with Notre Dame as runner-up.

Scoring

First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
No scoring
Third quarter

• Notre Dame – Anthony Johnson 2-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick)
• Notre Dame – Raghib Ismail 35-yard run (Hentrich kick)
• Colorado – Darian Hagan 39-yard run (kick failed)

Fourth quarter

• Notre Dame – Johnson 7-yard run (Hentrich kick)

Source:

Statistics	Notre     Dame	Colorado
First Downs	18	16
Rushes–yards	52–279	46–217
Passing yards	99	65
Passes (C–A–I)	6–9–0	4–13–2
Total Offense	61–378	59–282
Return yards	0	36
Punts–average	5–40	3–39
Fumbles–lost	0–0	1–1
Turnovers	0	3
Penalties-yards	3–35	1–5
Time of possession	32:43	27:17

Source:

The loss by Colorado opened up the national championship for Miami, but several analysts/pollsters felt that Notre Dame was also worthy of the title. Notre Dame and Miami had lost one game and Notre Dame had played a much more difficult schedule. However, the head-to-head matchup proved too much to overcome as Miami was voted number one in both final polls; Notre Dame was second (third in Coaches poll), and Colorado slipped to fourth.