1987 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The 1987 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	1:30 pm	Utah State*	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 56–12	75,910
September 12	4:00 pm	No. 3 UCLA*	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	ESPN	W 42–33	76,313
September 26	2:30 pm	at No. 12 Arizona State*	No. 2	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	ABC	W 35–28	71,264
October 3	3:00 pm	South Carolina*	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	ESPN	W 30–21	76,061	[1]
October 10	1:30 pm	Kansas	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 54–2	76,053
October 17	1:30 pm	at No. 12 Oklahoma State	No. 2	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	CBS	W 35–0	50,440
October 24	1:30 pm	Kansas State	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 56–3	76,106
October 31	1:30 pm	at Missouri	No. 2	Faurot Field Columbia, Missouri (rivalry)		W 42–7	55,594
November 7	1:30 pm	Iowa State	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 42–3	76,001
November 21	2:30 pm	No. 2 Oklahoma	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	CBS	L 7–17	76,663
November 28	3:00 pm	at Colorado	No. 5	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	ESPN	W 24–7	52,026
January 1, 1988	12:30 pm	vs. No. 3 Florida State*	No. 5	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	NBC	L 28–31	72,112
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Nebraska QB Steve Taylor rushed for 157 yards, breaking a 35-year-old Cornhusker quarterback record, and Nebraska returned two punts for touchdowns, tying its own Big 8 record. Nebraska rolled over Utah State with 515 rushing yards while holding the Aggies to -1 yard.

Memorial Stadium recorded its 150th consecutive sellout as #2 Nebraska defeated #3 UCLA. This was the first time two teams from the Top 3 had played in Lincoln. Nebraska QB Steve Taylor's five TD passes tied a Big 8 record set in 1938.

Following a late ASU game-tying score resulting from a fumble by Nebraska QB Steve Taylor, Nebraska IB Keith Jones tore off a 62-yard run with 3:37 remaining to set up the winning series as Nebraska triumphed over the #12 Sun Devils.

South Carolina was leading 21–13 in the 3rd as Nebraska QB Steve Taylor left the game with a shoulder injury. After that, Nebraska regained the momentum, holding the Gamecocks to just 9 yards total, recovering a fumble to set up a score, and adding a late interception and field goal to put up the win.

Nebraska cruised against a weak Kansas team, as Nebraska QB Clete Blakeman filled in for injured starting QB Steve Taylor.

Nebraska continued their 26-year winning streak against the Cowboys, putting a stop to #12 Oklahoma State's best start and best winning streak since 1945. Cowboys RB Thurman Thomas, at that time the NCAA rushing leader, was held to just 7 yards in 9 carries.

Nebraska secured their 26th consecutive winning season, tying the NCAA record, and rolled up 459 rushing yards using 17 rushing players, while the Cornhusker defense prevented a touchdown for the third game in a row.

The NCAA touchdown pass record from 1938 was tied by Nebraska for the second time in this season as the Cornhusker offense scored in all four quarters for the 4th game in a row, though the defense finally allowed their first touchdown in 15 quarters.

The Cornhuskers locked up their 19th consecutive 9-win season while piling up 666 total yards of offense as they rocketed to a 28–0 halftime lead before coasting to another win.

Billed as "Game of the Century II", this first-ever #1 vs. #2 matchup in Memorial Stadium brought a halt to the Cornhuskers' title hopes. Nebraska had taken away Oklahoma's #1 ranking before this game, and gave it back as the Cornhuskers struggled to move the ball after their first and only score. The Sooners went on to win their 4th straight Big 8 Championship.

Nebraska recovered from the Oklahoma loss and obtained their revenge for last year's loss to Colorado by taking out their frustrations on the Buffaloes in Boulder. Nebraska IB Keith Jones' 248 yards lifted him into a career 3rd-place ranking among Cornhusker runners.

Nebraska lost after leading by 4 midway through the 4th. A Seminole defender stripped the ball from Nebraska IB Tyreese Knox as he ran in from the FSU 2, which set up a 97-yard FSU march for the winning touchdown with 3:07 left to play.

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The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1987 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.^[3]