| Year: | 1990 |
| Team: | BYU Cougars |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Western Athletic Conference |
| Short Conf: | WAC |
| Coachrank: | T–17 |
| Aprank: | 22 |
| Record: | 10–3 |
| Conf Record: | 7–1 |
| Head Coach: | LaVell Edwards |
| Hc Year: | 19th |
| Off Coach: | Roger French |
| Oc Year: | 10th |
| Off Scheme: | West Coast |
| Def Coach: | Dick Felt |
| Dc Year: | 16th |
| Def Scheme: | 3–4 |
| Stadium: | Cougar Stadium |
| Champion: | WAC champion |
| Bowl: | Holiday Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | L 14–65 vs. Texas A&M |
The 1990 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars offense scored 524 points while the defense allowed 350 points. Led by head coach LaVell Edwards, the team participated in the Holiday Bowl.
Ty Detmer was entering his third year as a starter and a Heisman Trophy candidate. Head coach LaVell Edwards considered him so valuable that he was allowed to go through spring practice untouched. While Detmer and tight Chris Smith were projected to lead another high-flying BYU offense, Edwards was looking for improvement with the team's defense that had been embarrassed in the Holiday Bowl by Penn State, which had led him to pay a visit to the San Francisco 49ers in the offseason. Even with their defensive deficiencies, BYU was considered a Top 20 squad and expected to once again to win the WAC.[2]
See also: 1990 Miami Hurricanes football team.
| Player | G/GS | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ty Detmer | 12/12 | 361 | 562 | 5,188 | 41 | 28 | |
| Joe Evans | 5/0 | 11 | 16 | 148 | 0 | 1 | |
| Matt Bellini | 11/9 | 1 | 2 | 43 | 0 | 0 |
Runner Up WAC Defensive Player of the Year: Alema Fitisemanu
East West Shrine All Star Game: Alema Fiitsemanu, Rich Kaufusi, Chris Smith, Andy Boyce
The following were selected in the 1991 NFL draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Overall | NFL Team |
| Neal Fort | Tackle | 6 | 143 | Los Angeles Rams |
| Brian Mitchell | Defensive back | 7 | 172 | Atlanta Falcons |
| Chris Smith | Tight end | 11 | 295 | Cincinnati Bengals |