The Bulldogs finished third in the Southeastern Conference behind eventual national champion Georgia and Alabama in Emory Bellard's second year as head coach, closing the regular season on a five-game winning streak.
Among those November victories were a 6–3 defeat of two-time defending national champion Alabama, a 55–31 rout of LSU, and a conquest of archrival Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl.
The Huskers scored twice in the second quarter in a span of 86 seconds on a Kevin Seibel field goal from 22 yards and an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Quinn to tight end Jeff Finn; the score was 17–0 at halftime.
Michael Haddix ended the scoring at 31–17 with his 11-yard touchdown reception with a minute remaining, and Nebraska won by fourteen.
[3][4][5] Nebraska climbed to seventh in the final AP poll and Mississippi State fell to nineteenth.