15 Greatest QB/WR Duos of All Time

1994: Penn State

Kerry Collins and Bobby Engram

In 1994, Penn State went 12-0, demolishing the Big Ten and everyone else in their path. The Nittany Lions led the nation in points per game, averaging an unbelievable 47 points every time they took the field. Kerry Collins was throwing to Bobby Engram.

Collins completed 176 passes for 2,679 yards and 21 touchdowns. He finished fourth in the Heisman voting and would go in the first round, the fifth overall pick, to the Carolina Panthers. But 1994 earned him a slew of honors: Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Consensus All-American, Davey O’Brien Award, Maxwell Award, and Sammy Baugh Trophy.

He led the Big Ten in pass completion percentage (66.7), passing yards and passing touchdowns. He also led the nation in passing efficiency rating (172.9) and passing yards per attempt (10.1).

Collins was basically throwing for a first down every time he released the football.

Bobby Engram caught 52 passes for 1,029 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging a staggering 19.8 yards per catch. Engram won the Fred Biletnikoff Award, finishing second in the Big Ten in receptions and receiving yards: two catches and 67 yards behind Michigan’s Amani Toomer.

Behind Collins and Engram, Penn State won the Rose Bowl, 38-20, over Oregon.

After mopping up the field with Ducks jerseys in the Rose Bowl, the Nittany Lions still hadn’t done enough to prove they were the number one team in the nation. Unfortunately for Collins, Engram, and the rest of the team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers went 13-0 that same season, beating Miami in the Orange Bowl. Unbeaten Penn State finished ranked #2 in the nation.

Penn State fans probably still dream of what a matchup between their Nittany Lions and the Huskers would have been like. In cases like this one in ’94, why not let the two teams decide whether or not they want to play one more game?

We can be sure that Kerry Collins and Bobby Engram would have been among the first jump at the opportunity.