Football Sports

Throwback Thursday: The 1990 Cougars

 

While the Cougars leaped to No.6 in the AP poll this week, The Cougar looks back to the last time the football team were ranked this high in the same poll: the 1990 season.

In response to egregious recruiting violations during Coach Bill Yeoman’s tenure a few years prior, the Cougars were still under heavy NCAA sanctions. Although they were banned from bowl games, the team still attained two dominating seasons in 1989 and 1990.

Since Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware was drafted after his heroic 1989 season, quarterback David Klinger took his place. Klinger appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated during its annual college football season preview.

Recently, that magazine picked current quarterback Greg Ward Jr. for the cover.

The Cougars started out ranked No. 24, but after big wins over University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Texas Tech University and Baylor University, the team climbed to No. 12 nationally. After squeaking past the Texas A&M University Aggies, the team garnered national attention toward the end of the season.

Then there was the University of Texas game.

Against a team in the top 15, the Cougars were blindsided and eventually lost their No. 3 ranking.

While they were not allowed to go to a bowl game, the one-loss Cougars did participate in the “Coca-Cola Classic” in Tokyo. In this de facto bowl game, the team conquered unranked Arizona State 62-45.

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