1986 Fiesta Bowl

1986 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl
15th edition
Nebraska Cornhuskers Michigan Wolverines
(9–2) (9–1–1)
Big 8 Big Ten
23 27
Head coach: 
Tom Osborne		 Head coach: 
Bo Schembechler
APCoaches
76
APCoaches
55
1234 Total
Nebraska 01409 23
Michigan 30240 27
DateJanuary 1, 1986
Season1985
StadiumSun Devil Stadium
LocationTempe, Arizona
MVPJamie Morris   (Michigan RB)
Mark Messner (Michigan DT)
FavoriteMichigan by 3 points[1][2][3]
RefereeJack Baker (WAC)
Attendance72,454
United States TV coverage
NetworkNBC
AnnouncersCharlie Jones, Sam Rutigliano
Fiesta Bowl
 < 1985  1987 > 

The 1986 Fiesta Bowl was the 15th edition of the Fiesta Bowl, a college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Wednesday, January 1. Part of the 1985–86 bowl game season, it matched the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference and the seventh-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference; both were runners-up in their respective conferences.[2]

Behind by 11 points at halftime, Michigan took advantage of Nebraska turnovers, scored 24 points in the third quarter, and prevailed by a score of 27–23.[4][5] Running back Jamie Morris and defensive tackle Mark Messner, both Wolverines, were named the game's MVPs.[3][6]

This was the third matchup of top-10 teams in the Fiesta Bowl; the prior two were in January 1982 and December 1975. This was the first bowl game with a corporate title sponsor, as bowl organizers had reached agreement with Sunkist Growers in September 1985, making the game officially the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl.[7][8]

  1. ^ "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1986. p. 36.
  2. ^ a b "Today's bowl games: Fiesta". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 1, 1986. p. 5C.
  3. ^ a b "Fiesta fumbles". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 2, 1986. p. 21.
  4. ^ "Wolverine 'D' shucks Nebraska". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1986. p. C2.
  5. ^ Woolford, Dave (January 2, 1986). "UM erupts in third period; Nebraska mistakes costly". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). p. 22.
  6. ^ Jenkins, Sally (January 2, 1986). "It's a case of turnaround for Michigan". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Washington Post). p. 3B.
  7. ^ Young, Bob (September 27, 1985). "Sunkist agrees to sponsor Fiesta Bowl". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. p. G1. Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Young, Bob (September 27, 1985). "Sunkist agrees to sponsor Fiesta Bowl (cont'd)". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. p. G3. Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via newspapers.com.