1989 Gator Bowl (January)
The 1989 Gator Bowl (January) was a college football postseason bowl game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Michigan State Spartans
| 1989 Mazda Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Gator Bowl Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | QB Wayne Johnson, Georgia WR Andre Rison, Michigan State | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 76,236 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mike Patrick, Joe Theisman, Chris Fowler | ||||||||||||||||||
Background
Georgia finished 3rd in the Southeastern Conference and first bowl game since 1987. 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.
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. [1]
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 |
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| 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 |