The 1987 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	1:30 pm	Utah State*	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 56–12	75,910
September 12	4:00 pm	No. 3 UCLA*	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	ESPN	W 42–33	76,313
September 26	2:30 pm	at No. 12 Arizona State*	No. 2	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	ABC	W 35–28	71,264
October 3	3:00 pm	South Carolina*	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	ESPN	W 30–21	76,061	[1]
October 10	1:30 pm	Kansas	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 54–2	76,053
October 17	1:30 pm	at No. 12 Oklahoma State	No. 2	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	CBS	W 35–0	50,440
October 24	1:30 pm	Kansas State	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 56–3	76,106
October 31	1:30 pm	at Missouri	No. 2	Faurot Field Columbia, Missouri (rivalry)		W 42–7	55,594
November 7	1:30 pm	Iowa State	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 42–3	76,001
November 21	2:30 pm	No. 2 Oklahoma	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	CBS	L 7–17	76,663
November 28	3:00 pm	at Colorado	No. 5	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	ESPN	W 24–7	52,026
January 1, 1988	12:30 pm	vs. No. 3 Florida State*	No. 5	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	NBC	L 28–31	72,112
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Nebraska QB Steve Taylor rushed for 157 yards, breaking a 35-year-old Cornhusker quarterback record, and Nebraska returned two punts for touchdowns, tying its own Big 8 record. Nebraska rolled over Utah State with 515 rushing yards while holding the Aggies to -1 yard.

Memorial Stadium recorded its 150th consecutive sellout as #2 Nebraska defeated #3 UCLA. This was the first time two teams from the Top 3 had played in Lincoln. Nebraska QB Steve Taylor's five TD passes tied a Big 8 record set in 1938.

Following a late ASU game-tying score resulting from a fumble by Nebraska QB Steve Taylor, Nebraska IB Keith Jones tore off a 62-yard run with 3:37 remaining to set up the winning series as Nebraska triumphed over the #12 Sun Devils.

South Carolina was leading 21–13 in the 3rd as Nebraska QB Steve Taylor left the game with a shoulder injury. After that, Nebraska regained the momentum, holding the Gamecocks to just 9 yards total, recovering a fumble to set up a score, and adding a late interception and field goal to put up the win.

Nebraska cruised against a weak Kansas team, as Nebraska QB Clete Blakeman filled in for injured starting QB Steve Taylor.

Nebraska continued their 26-year winning streak against the Cowboys, putting a stop to #12 Oklahoma State's best start and best winning streak since 1945. Cowboys RB Thurman Thomas, at that time the NCAA rushing leader, was held to just 7 yards in 9 carries.

Nebraska secured their 26th consecutive winning season, tying the NCAA record, and rolled up 459 rushing yards using 17 rushing players, while the Cornhusker defense prevented a touchdown for the third game in a row.