| Game Name: | Gator Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Mazda |
| Date Game Played: | January 2 |
| Year Game Played: | 1989 |
| Football Season: | 1988 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Michigan State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Spartans |
| Visitor Record: | 6–4–1 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 6 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 14 |
| Home Name Short: | Georgia |
| Home Nickname: | Bulldogs |
| Home Record: | 8–3 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 19 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 19 |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 10 |
| Home 3Q: | 10 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Mvp: | QB Wayne Johnson, Georgia WR Andre Rison, Michigan State |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Type: | bg |
| Referee: | Courtney Mauzy (ACC) |
| Attendance: | 76,236 |
The 1989 Gator Bowl (January) was a college football postseason bowl game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Georgia Bulldogs.
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]
UGA – Rodney Hampton 6 pass from Wayne Johnson (John Kasay kick), 0:01 left.
Andre Rison caught 9 pass for 252 yards. Wayne Johnson went 15-of-27 for 227 yards.[2]
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 | 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 |