1986 Fiesta Bowl

Tempe, Ariz., Jan. 1, 1986--After building a 14-3 halftime lead, Nebraska self-destructed in the third quarter and was never able to recover completely in dropping a 27-23 decision to Michigan in the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl.

The Huskers used a pair of second-quarter touchdowns by I-back Doug DuBose to take the lead, but a fumble on the third play of the second half set up a 21-yard Wolverine touchdown drive that cut the NU margin to 14-10. Nebraska fumbled again on the second play after the ensuing kickoff, setting up a 38-yard touchdown drive that put Michigan up for good, 17-14.

Nebraska's next drive stalled after one first down, and the Wolverines blocked Dan Wingard's punt, recovering it at the NU 6-yard line. The Nebraska defense held, and a 19-yard Pat Moons field goal made it 20-14, Michigan, after 8:18 of the second half. Later in the period, the Maize and Blue took advantage of two pass interference penalties to score another touchdown to build what proved to be an insurmountable 27-14 lead.

1986 Fiesta Bowl

Teams	1	2	3	4	Final
Nebraska	0	14	0	9	23
Michigan	3	0	24	0	27

 

Statistics	NU	UM
First Downs	20	16
Rushing, Net	304	171
Passes Att., Comp., Int.	15-6-1	16-6-0
Passing, Net	66	63
Total Offense	370	234

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
MU-FG Pat Moons 42, 4:22

Second Quarter
NU-Doug DuBose 5 pass from McCathorn Clayton (Dale Klein kick), 14:22
NU-DuBose 3 run (Klein kick), 11:09

Third Quarter
MU-Gerald White 1 run (Moons kick), 14:57
MU-Jim Harbaugh 1 run (Moons kick), 10:43
MU-FG Moons 19, 6:42
MU-Harbaugh 23 run (Moons kick), 1:53

Fourth Quarter
NU-Steve Taylor 1 run (Klein kick), 12:31
NU-Safety, Monte Robbins downed ball in end zone, 1:22