Year-by-Year: 1990
November 24, 1990 10:00 AM
Notre Dame Buffaloes Colorado
Notre Dame 21
Colorado 6
Notre Dame took advantage of three first-half missed scoring opportunities by Colorado and handed the 11-0 top-ranked Buffs a 21-6 defeat.
The game was barely five minutes old when tailback Eric Bieniemy fumbled at the Notre Dame 19. In the second period, Ken Culbertson missed a 23-yard field goal and Notre Dame foiled a fake field goal attempt on a fourth-and-goal on its three-yard line.
Billy Hackett's 27-yard field goal attempt just before the half was blocked by Colorado’s Garry Howe, leaving the game scoreless.
Notre Dame scored two quick touchdowns in the third quarter. Anthony Johnson's 2-yard touchdown run was followed by Raghib Ismail's 35-yard reverse for a touchdown after Ned Bolcar intercepted Buffalo quarterback Darian Hagan.
Hagan's 39-yard touchdown run cut it to 14-6 at the close of the quarter, but Culbertson missed the PAT.
Notre Dame marched 82 yards in 17 plays, eating nearly nine minutes of clock time, to put the game out of reach. Johnson's second touchdown made it 21-6.
GAME STATISTICS
  Notre Dame Colorado
First Downs 18 16
Rushing Plays 62 46
Rushing Yards 295 239
Passes Attempted 9 13
Passes Completed 5 4
Had Intercepted 0 2
Passing Yards 99 65
Total Offense 378 282
Punting/Avg. 5/40.1 3/39.3
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/1
Penalties/Yards 3/35 3/35
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Notre Dame 0 0 14 7 15
Colorado 0 0 6 0 14
SCORING SUMMARY
ND: A. Johnson 2 run (Hentrich kick); ND: Ismail 35 reverse (Hentrich kick); CU: Hagan 39 run (kick failed); ND: A. Johnson 7 run (Hentrich kick) ... MVPs: Raghib Ismail (Notre Dame) and Darian Hagan (Colorado)
Notre Dame Head Coach Lou Holtz
Colorado Heach Coach Bill McCartney