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.