Nebraska 42
UCLA 33

Sept. 12, 1987 • 4:07 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium •Lincoln, NE • ESPN
1st2nd3rd4th F 
UCLA7371633
Nebraska014141442
First Quarter
UCLA: Gaston Green 4 run (Alfredo Velasco kick) 1:21
Second Quarter
NEBR: Tom Banderas 9 pass from Steve Taylor (Chris Drennan kick) 12:16
NEBR: Ken Clark 11 pass from Taylor (Drennan kick) 7:49
UCLA: FG Velasco 23, 0:57
Third Quarter
NEBR: Clark 1 run (Drennan kick) 13:09
NEBR: Rod Smith 48 pass from Taylor (Drennan kick) 11:11 
UCLA: Eric Ball 6 run (Velasco kick) 3:11
Fourth Quarter
NEBR: Todd Millikan 35 pass from Taylor (Drennan kick) 14:54
NEBR: Millikan 33 pass from Taylor (Drennan kick) 5:37
UCLA: Green 5 run (Green run) 3:46
UCLA: Green 2 run (Green run) 0:47

A-76,313
                      UCLA      NEBR
First downs ........... 23        17
Rushes-yards ....... 53-94    47-117
Passing yards ........ 267       217
  Comp-Att-Int ... 18-29-0   10-15-0
Total offense ..... 82-361    62-334
Returns-yards ........ 0-0      1-16
Sacks by ............ 1-11      6-50
Punts-avg.  ......... 6-27      3-36
Fumbles-lost ......... 4-3       5-4
Penalties-yards ..... 9-70      5-30
Possession time .... 34:53     25:07
Third-down conv. .... 9/18      8/13

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing
UCLA: Green 19-46, Brendan McCracken 5-22
NEBR: Tyreese Knox 4-30, Taylor 12-27

Passing
UCLA: Troy Aikman 14-22-0-211, McCracken 4-7-0-56

NEBR: Taylor 10-15-0-217

Receiving
UCLA: Charles Arbuckle 6-92, Willie Anderson 5-105, Paco Craig 4-43

NEBR: Dana Brinson 3-46, R. Smith 2-75, Millikan 2-68

Missed field goals: None

MORE INDIVIDUAL STATS

Coverage

Recap

Taylor torches Bruins for five touchdown passes

Steve Taylor threw five touchdown passes to lead No. 2 Nebraska to a 42-33 win over No. 3 UCLA before the Huskers’ 150th consecutive home sellout crowd.

With two of the top three teams meeting in Lincoln for the first time, Taylor compensated for the Huskers’ 117-yard rushing attack and led NU to a 42-17 lead late in the game.

Taylor’s five scoring passes tied the Big Eight record set in 1938 by basketball coach-to-be Ralph Miller, for Kansas vs. Washburn. UCLA’s Gaston Green scored three touchdowns but was held to 46 yards rushing.

In a game that featured 10 touchdowns and 75 points, both offenses struggled early. Green gave UCLA a 7-0 advantage with a four-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Nebraska answered with a touchdown of its own 2:44 into the second quarter when Taylor found Tom Banderas in the end zone on a nine-yard pass.

The Huskers took the lead for good less than five minutes later when Taylor and Ken Clark hooked up for an 11-yard touchdown strike. UCLA cut the lead to 14-10 with a 23-yard field goal with 57 seconds left until intermission.

In the second half, the Huskers exploded. Clark scored his second touchdown of the game — and Nebraska’s lone rushing TD — on a one-yard plunge just 1:51 into the third quarter. The Huskers scored again less than two minutes later when Taylor found Rod Smith for a 48-yard touchdown strike.

Recap source: Nebraska Athletics

Omaha World-Herald*
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Nebraska Athletics
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Los Angeles Times*
Washington Post*
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Pregame & team info
1987 schedule
04/25Reds 33, Whites 28
09/05Utah St.W 56-12
09/12UCLAW 42-33
09/26@ Arizona St.W 35-28
10/03South CarolinaW 30-21
10/10KansasW 54-2
10/17@ Oklahoma St.W 35-0
10/24Kansas St.W 56-3
10/31@ MissouriW 42-7
11/07Iowa St.W 42-3
11/21OklahomaL 7-17
11/28@ ColoradoW 24-7
01/01Florida St.L 28-31

Commentary

Parker

Pass defense remains a question mark. The pass rush was great in the second quarter, but was almost non-existent in the second half.

Virgil Parker
Lincoln Journal Star
Kelly

A good win, certainly, and entertaining as all get out. More than that, it showed that Nebraska is not a one-dimensional offensive team.

Michael Kelly
Omaha World-Herald
Downey

Taylor can run, can throw, and can play hurt, as he did Saturday with a banged-up left shoulder. He’s a good one.

Mike Downey *
Los Angeles Times
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