| Year Game Played: | 1990 |
| Title Sponsor: | Sunkist |
| Game Name: | Fiesta Bowl |
| Football Season: | 1989 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Nebraska |
| Visitor Nickname: | Cornhuskers |
| Home Name Short: | Florida State |
| Home Nickname: | Seminoles |
| Visitor Record: | 10–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | Big 8 |
| Home Record: | 9–2 |
| Home Conference: | Independent |
| Visitor Coach: | Tom Osborne |
| Home Coach: | Bobby Bowden |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 6 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 6 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 5 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 5 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 21 |
| Home 3Q: | 20 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Date Game Played: | January 1 |
| Stadium: | Sun Devil Stadium |
| City: | Tempe, Arizona |
| Mvp: | Peter Tom Willis (QB, FSU) Odell Haggins (NG, FSU) |
| Odds: | Florida State by 3½ points [1] [2] |
| Referee: | Jimmy Harper (SEC) |
| Attendance: | 73,953 |
| Us Network: | NBC |
| Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
| Us Announcers: | Charlie Jones, Merlin Olsen |
| Ratings: | 7.9 |
The 1990 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl was the 19th edition of the Fiesta Bowl, played on January 1, in Tempe, Arizona. The game featured the sixth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference and the independent fifth-ranked
Less than four minutes into the game, Nebraska quarterback Gerry Gdowski threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Morgan Gregory for the only score of the first quarter. Florida State got on the scoreboard with a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Peter Tom Willis to wide receiver Terry Anthony, tying the game at seven early in the second quarter. Chris Drennan responded with a 39-yard field goal to put Nebraska ahead with over twelve minutes left in the half.
Willis connected with wide receiver Reggie Johnson for a 5-yard touchdown pass and a 14–10 Seminole lead. He later connected with for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds left in the half, as the Seminoles took a lead into the locker room.
With six minutes left in the third quarter, Paul Moore scored for Florida State on a 1-yard touchdown run, but the extra point attempt was blocked and the score was With 3:37 left in the quarter, Willis threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game, an 8-yard strike to Johnson, widening the gap With two seconds left in the quarter, Willis threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Terry Anthony for a In the second and third quarters, Florida State outscored Nebraska Nebraska scored the only points of the fourth quarter on a touchdown run by quarterback with It was the Huskers' worst defeat in a bowl game in 23 years.
Florida State climbed to third in the final AP poll, while Nebraska dropped to eleventh.
It was the fourth loss in as many appearances at the Fiesta Bowl for the they won their next two in 1996 and 2000.
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
| Statistics | Nebraska | Florida State | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 18 | 18 | |
| Rushes–yards | 46–115 | 24–72 | |
| Passing yards | 207 | 422 | |
| Passes | 15–26–2 | 25–41–0 | |
| Total yards | 322 | 494 | |
| Punts–average | 3–34 | 3–36 | |
| Fumbles–lost | 5–3 | 0–0 | |
| Turnovers by | 5 | 0 | |
| Penalties-yards | 6–48 | 13–135 | |
| Time of possession | 32:30 | 27:30 |