On January 1, 1972, after winning the Orange Bowl, Nebraska had been awarded The Belt but the Orange Bowl had not hosted a Belt game since.  The match-up of the 5^th ranked, 9-2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish of coach Lou Holtz & the top-ranked, 10-1-1 Colorado Buffaloes coached by Bill McCartney would decide the Belt holder & potentially the National Champion for 1990.  Notre Dame had beaten the Buffaloes in the 1989 Orange Bowl to deny Colorado a presumed National Championship.  The Buffaloes took the opening kick-off & All-Big Eight QB Darian Hagan had the Colorado triple-option running game moving.  Notre Dame's defense stopped Colorado near midfield & All-Big Eight P Tom Rouen came in to try a coffin-corner punt.  Rouen mishandled the snap & Notre Dame had the ball in Buffaloes' territory.  The Fighting Irish were unable to take advantage of the opportunity as QB Rick Mirer was pressured by Colorado's All-American LB Alfred Williams & his pass was tipped, then intercepted by S Greg Thomas.  Notre Dame had a chance to take the lead but PK Craig Hentrich's 49-yard field goal attempt hit the upright.  Colorado drove from their own 32-yard line to the Notre Dame 5-yard line before settling for 23-yard field goal from PK Jim Harper with 12:00 to play in the half.  The Fighting Irish's RB Ricky Watters 2-yard touchdown run gave Notre Dame a 6-3 lead as the conversion attempt by Hentrich was blocked by Buffaloes' CB Ronnie Bradford.  Hagan ruptured a tendon in his knee as the half ended & he was unable to play again.  The Fighting Irish drove to the Colorado 5-yard line & re-took the lead when Hentrich connected on a 23-yard field goal for a 9-3 lead with 10:10 left in the 3^rd quarter.  The Buffaloes turned to back-up QB Charles Johnson who led a 40-yard drive capped by All-American RB Eric Bieniemy’s 1-yard touchdown run giving Colorado at 10-9 lead with 4:26 left in the quarter.  The drive started when Watters fumbled & Colorado's LB Paul Rose recovered.  Thomas intercepted Mirer for the second time late in the 3^rd quarter as Colorado continued to run the clock down.  The Buffaloes tried to add to their lead but Harper's 36-yard field goal attempt was low & blocked by Notre Dame's DT George Williams.  Neither team was able to move the ball in the 4^th quarter but with 1:05 to play & the Buffaloes leading 10-9, Rouen punted to Fighting Irish's All-American WR Raghib “Rocket” Ismail.  The Rocket took the ball at his own 9-yard line & returned it 91 yards for what appeared to be the winning score but the play was called back by a clipping penalty against Notre Dame's DB Greg Davis.  Mirer threw his 3rd interception of the game, this one to Colorado's CB Deon Figures who returned it 27 yards allowing the Buffaloes to run out the clock.  Johnson was named the game’s MVP & the win gave Colorado their first Belt reign.  Hagan threw for 80 yards in the 1^st half completing 5 of 6 pass attempts while Johnson threw for just 29 yards in the 2^nd half.  Mirer threw for 141 yards but 3 interceptions as part of 5 Notre Dame turnovers.  The Fighting Irish finished the season 9-3; ranked 6^th nationally while the Buffaloes finished 11-1-1, Big Eight Champions, & National Champions.  Notre Dame would play for The Belt again in 2004.