1987 Sugar Bowl
| 1987 USF&G Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Louisiana Superdome | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Wendel Shelton (SWC) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 76,234 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Keith Jackson and Tim Brant | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1987 Sugar Bowl featured the fifth ranked LSU Tigers, and the sixth ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. It was the third time in five seasons that the two teams had met in a bowl game, with Nebraska winning all three encounters.
LSU scored first on a 1-yard touchdown run from Williams, giving the Tigers a 7-0 first quarter lead, before the Huskers scored 30 unanswered points.
In the second quarter, Dale Klein kicked a 42-yard field goal for the Huskers cutting the LSU lead to 7-3. Quarterback Steve Taylor scored on a 2-yard touchdown run later in the quarter to give Nebraska a 10-7 halftime lead.
Following intermission, Tyrese Knox gave Nebraska a 17-7 advantage with a 1-yard run early in the third quarter. Taylor found tight-end Todd Millikan on a 3-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth, and Knox's second 1-yard touchdown run extended the Husker lead out to 30-7.
LSU's Hodson added a 24-yard touchdown pass late to Moss, and with the two-point conversion made the score 30-15, which held up.
Nebraska's Steve Taylor was named Most Valuable Player.
This was the final game for LSU under coach Bill Arnsparger, who announced he was accepting the athletic director position at Southeastern Conference rival Florida after the Tigers' regular season finale vs. Tulane. Arnsparger led LSU to the 1986 SEC championship, its first since 1970; however, Arnsparger's minimal recruiting skills and 0 and 3 bowl record (2 of the 3 losses to the Cornhuskers) left many LSU fans in disfavor of him. Arnsparger would recommend his 33 year old defensive coordinator Mike Archer to be the next LSU head coach.
While Mike Archer would coach 4 seasons at LSU and endure a 27-18-1 record, Arnsparger's lack of recruiting would inevitably put him in a hole. Arnsparger's best players during his stint such as NT Henry Thomas, OG Eric Andolsek, C Nacho Albergamo, and FS Chris Carrier were all recruits from the previous head coach Jerry Stovall. LSU would play in 2 more bowls, but would not engage in another until 1995. Meanwhile, Nebraska would enjoy another decade-plus of big time winning football with a championship in 1994 and also 1995. They would tie for another in 97 and play for one more in 2001. Since 2001, Nebraska has not been close to playing for a NC, while LSU won 2 - one in 2003 and another in 2007. Both schools hope to rekindle the dominance they once had.