1989 Gator Bowl (January)

The 1989 Gator Bowl (January) was a college football postseason bowl game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Georgia Bulldogs.

1989 Mazda Gator Bowl
Michigan State Spartans Georgia Bulldogs (6–4–1) (8–3) Big Ten SEC 27 34 Head coach:  George Perles Head coach:  Vince Dooley AP Coaches 19 19
1 2 3 4 Total Michigan State 0 7 6 14 27 Georgia 7 10 10 7 34
Date	January 2, 1989
Season	1988
Stadium	Gator Bowl Stadium
Location	Jacksonville, Florida
MVP	QB Wayne Johnson, Georgia WR Andre Rison, Michigan State
Referee	Courtney Mauzy (ACC)
Attendance	76,236
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, and Chris Fowler
Gator Bowl  < 1987 1989 (Dec) >

Background

Michigan State finished 2nd in the Big Ten Conference after a 0–3–1 start ended with six straight victories before being invited to their second straight bowl game and first ever Gator Bowl. Georgia finished 3rd in the Southeastern Conference and first bowl game since 1987.

The game happened immediately after the December 1989 United States cold wave. Workers at Gator Bowl Stadium flushed 503 toilets continuously in the hopes of avoiding water pipe problems but the stadium still suffered $5000 in damages.^[1]

Game summary

First quarter

UGA – Rodney Hampton 6 pass from Wayne Johnson (John Kasay kick), 0:01 left.

Second quarter

• Georgia – 39 yard field goal from Steve Crumley, 11:00 left.
• Georgia – Rodney Hampton 30 yard touchdown pass from Wayne Johnson (John Kasay kick), 7:06 left.
• Michigan State – Andre Rison 4 yard touchdown pass from Bobby McAllister (John Langeloh kick), 2:55 left.

Third quarter

• Georgia – Kirk Warner 18 yard touchdown pass from Wayne Johnson (John Kasay kick), 7:48 left
• Michigan State – Andre Rison 55 pass from Bobby McAllister (kick failed), 3:55 left.
• Georgia – 36 yard field goal from Steve Crumley, 2:16 left.

Fourth quarter

• Michigan State – Blake Ezor 3 yard touchdown run (John Langeloh kick), 14:24 left.
• Georgia – Rodney Hampton 32 yard touchdown run (John Kasay kick), 11:58 left.
• Michigan State – Andre Rison 50 yard touchdown pass from McAllister (Langeloh kick), 3:49 left.

Andre Rison caught 9 pass for 252 yards. Wayne Johnson went 15-of-27 for 227 yards.^[2]

Aftermath

This was Vince Dooley's final game with the Bulldogs. The following year, Ray Goff became head coach. The Bulldogs did not return to the Gator Bowl until 2014. As for the Spartans, they reached another bowl game the same year. They have not played in the Gator Bowl since this game.

Statistics

Statistics	Michigan State	Georgia
First downs	22	22
Rushing yards	158	182
Passing yards	288	227
Total yards	446	409
Passes (att-comp-int)	24–14–0	27–15–0
Punts–average	6–42.8	4–34.0
Fumbles–lost	1–0	0–0
Penalties–yards	8–102	5–25

References

1. Omaye, Jayna (December 13, 2014). "Devastating 1989 freeze killed citrus, ushered in development in Lake County". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
2. "1989 Gator Bowl" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.