[4][5][6][7] It was the third time in five seasons that the teams had met in a major bowl game (1983 Orange, 1985 Sugar),[8] and Nebraska won all three.
In 1997, the SEC ruled home teams would have jersey color choice without consent of the visitors for conference games.
In the second quarter, Dale Klein kicked a 42-yard field goal for the Huskers and quarterback Steve Taylor scored on a two-yard run to give Nebraska a 10–7 lead at halftime.
Tight end Todd Millikan caught a short touchdown pass from Taylor early in the fourth, and Knox added another one-yard run for thirty unanswered points and the score was 30–7 with under four minutes remaining.
Nebraska's Taylor was named the game's most valuable player;[3] the Huskers climbed to fifth in the final AP poll and LSU fell to tenth.
The Cornhuskers defeated the Tigers 17–12 in the 1971 Orange Bowl (to secure the national title) and 10–7 in the 1975 season opener at Lincoln.
They played to a 6–6 tie at Baton Rouge to open the 1976 season and Nebraska defeated the LSU Tigers in the 1983 Orange Bowl 21-20.