The 1990 Copper Bowl featured the Wyoming Cowboys and the California Golden Bears. After a scoreless first quarter, Cal quarterback Mike Pawlawski threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Brian Treggs giving Cal a 7–0 lead. A 26-yard Wyoming field goal cut the margin to 7–3 at halftime. In the third quarter, Cal added a 46-yard field goal to take a 10–3 lead. In the fourth quarter, Eric Zomalt scored on a 4-yard touchdown run increasing Cal's lead to 17–3. Wyoming scored on an 11-yard Daffer run, and attempted a 2-point conversion that failed, to make the score 17–9. They later scored on a 70-yard punt return, but the 2-point conversion attempt again failed, leaving the final score 17–15.