The 1989 Sugar Bowl was the 55th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1988–89 bowl game season, it featured the fourth-ranked independent Florida State Seminoles and the #7 Auburn Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Favored Florida State won the defensive slugfest, 13–7. Sponsored by the USF&G insurance company, the game was officially known as the USF&G Sugar Bowl. New Year's Day was on Sunday in 1989, and the college bowl games were played the following day.