1985 Sugar Bowl

The 1985 Sugar Bowl was the 51st edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the 1984–85 bowl game season, it matched the fifth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference and the #11 LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).^[3][4] The teams had met two years earlier in the Orange Bowl. Favored Nebraska trailed early, but rallied to win 28–10.^[5][6][7]

1985 Sugar Bowl
51st edition
Nebraska Cornhuskers LSU Tigers (9–2) (8–2–1) Big 8 SEC 28 10 Head coach:  Tom Osborne Head coach:  Bill Arnsparger AP Coaches 5 4 AP Coaches 11 12
1 2 3 4 Total Nebraska 0 7 7 14 28 LSU 3 7 0 0 10
Date	January 1, 1985
Season	1984
Stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP	Craig Sundberg (Nebraska QB)
Favorite	Nebraska by 7½ points[1][2]
Referee	Dixon Holman (SWC)
Attendance	75,608
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Keith Jackson, Frank Broyles
Sugar Bowl  < 1984  1986 >

Game summary

The game kicked off shortly after 7 p.m. CST, televised by ABC, at the same time as the Orange Bowl on NBC,^[3][4] which matched #2 Oklahoma and #4 Washington.

In the first quarter, Ronnie Lewis kicked a 37-yard field goal to give LSU an early lead. In the second quarter, Tiger running back Dalton Hilliard scored on a two-yard touchdown run and LSU led 10–0. Nebraska quarterback Craig Sundberg threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to I-back Doug DuBose as Nebraska closed the gap to 10–7 at the half.

In the third quarter, Sundberg scored on a nine-yard run to give the Huskers a 14–10 lead. In the fourth quarter, Sundberg threw touchdown passes of 24 and 17 yards to tight end Todd Frain as Nebraska won 28–10. For his four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) Sundberg was named the game' MVP.^[6][7]

Scoring

First quarter

• LSU – Ronnie Lewis 37-yard field goal

Second quarter

• LSU – Dalton Hilliard 2-yard run (Lewis kick)
• Nebraska – Doug DuBose 31-yard pass from Craig Sundberg (Dale Klein kick)

Third quarter

• Nebraska – Sundberg 9-yard run (Klein kick)

Fourth quarter

• Nebraska – Todd Frain 24-yard pass from Sundberg (Klein kick)
• Nebraska – Frain 17-yard pass from Sundberg (Klein kick)

Source:^[5][7]

Statistics

Statistics	Nebraska	LSU
First Downs	23	19
Rushes–yards	59–280	34–183
Passing yards	143	221
Passing (C–A–I)	10–18–3	20–38–5
Total Offense	77–423	72–404
Return yards	16	15
Punts–average	5–31	4–40
Fumbles–lost	0–0	3–1
Turnovers	3	6
Penalties–yards	9–74	5–36
Time of possession	32:29	27:31

Source:^[5][7]

Aftermath

Nebraska climbed one spot to fourth in the final AP poll, and LSU fell to fifteenth.^[8][9]

The Cornhuskers and Tigers met in the Sugar Bowl two years later, with Nebraska winning 30-15.

References

1. "Betting line: Sugar Bowl". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). January 1, 1985. p. 15.
2. "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1985. p. 39.
3. "Sugar Bowl". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). January 1, 1985. p. 2B.
4. "Louisiana State's talent-laden offense is test for Nebraska defense in Sugar Bowl". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 1, 1985. p. 26.
5. Tracy, Steve (January 2, 1985). "Nebraska too much for Tigers". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). (Dallas Morning News). p. 34.
6. "Huskers huff, puff in 2nd-half rally, whip LSU, 28-10". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 2, 1985. p. 22.
7. "Nebraska rallies to conquer LSU". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1985. p. 5C.
8. "It's close, but Huskies are No. 2". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). wire services. January 3, 1985. p. 19.
9. Robinson, John (January 3, 1985). "BYU No. 1". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. D1.