| 1985 Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 51st edition | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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]
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]
| 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 |
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.