The Wolverines opened with five wins and were ranked second, but lost by two points at top-ranked Iowa. Two weeks later, they tied Illinois. This was Michigan's first Fiesta Bowl appearance.
Game summary
The opener of a bowl tripleheader on NBC, the game kicked off shortly after 11:30 a.m. MST, as did the Cotton Bowl on CBS, which matched the #16 Auburn Tigers with the #11 Texas A&M Aggies. Michigan opened the game and offense and scored on a 42-yard field goal from Pat Moons with less than four minutes elapsed. In the second quarter, Nebraska scored on a five-yard pass from quarterback McCathorn Clayton to running back Doug DuBose to give Nebraska the lead. DuBose scored again on a three-yard run to give Nebraska a advantage at the half. Michigan dominated the third quarter, aided by Husker miscues. DuBose fumbled on the third play of the second half and the Wolverines recovered at the Husker 21. Gerald White scored four plays later from a yard out to pull Michigan to within four points. Clayton fumbled on Nebraska's ensuing possession, and Michigan quickly capitalized again, this time on Jim Harbaugh's one-yard quarterback sneak, putting Michigan ahead 17–14 just over four minutes into the third quarter. Following a blocked Nebraska punt, Moons kicked his second field goal of the game, a 19-yarder. Later in the third, Harbaugh scored his second rushing touchdown of the game, a two-yard run, to give Michigan a comfortable In the fourth quarter, Nebraska head coachTom Osborne decided to spark his sputtering offense by inserting talented freshman quarterback Steve Taylor. he drove the Huskers 64 yards from their own three-yard line, driving deep into Michigan territory, but turnrd it over on downs. However, the Nebraska defense forced a three-and-out and was able to drive 77 yards in 12 plays, capped by Taylor's one-yard touchdown run to cut Michigan's lead to six points at 27–21, with less than three minutes remaining. Michigan found itself backed up in the shadow of its own goal post. Rather than risk disaster, they opted for an intentional safety with 1:22 remaining in the game, and punter Monte Robbins deliberately ran out of the end zone. Trailing by four points and no time outs, the Huskers set out from their own 46. The Wolverines intercepted an errant Taylor pass in the end zone to kill Nebraska's final threat. Morris was the leading rusher of the game with 156 yards on 22 carries. The attendance of 72,454 at this Fiesta Bowl was a record for a sporting event
Scoring
First quarter
Michigan – Pat Moons 42-yard field goal
Second quarter
Nebraska – Doug DuBose 5-yard pass from McCathorn Clayton
Nebraska – Safety, Michigan punter Monte Robbins purposely ran out of end zone
Statistics
Aftermath
The win improved head coach Bo Schembechler's bowl record to Michigan climbed to second in the final AP poll, and Nebraska fell to eleventh. In the previous season, unranked Michigan lost the Holiday Bowl and finished Through, this is Michigan's sole appearance in the Fiesta Bowl; Nebraska's next was two years later.
