15 Greatest QB/WR Duos of All Time

1964: Florida State

Steve Tensi and Fred Biletnikoff

Steve Tensi was tall. Fred Biletnikoff wasn’t. Steve Tensi was big. Fred Biletnikoff wasn’t. Tensi’s jersey looked tight around his shoulders. Biletnikoff’s jersey looked like it may have been a size too big for him, or maybe the same size as Tensi’s.

In 1964, the Florida State passing and catching tandem made defenses dizzy. The Seminoles went 9-1-1 under coach Bill Petersen and won the Gator Bowl, 36-19, against Oklahoma.

Tensi finished the season in the top five in most of the nation’s major passing categories: pass completions (144), pass completion percentage (60.0), passing yards per attempt (8.3), passing touchdowns (19), and passing efficiency rating (144.0).

Biletnikoff led the nation in touchdown receptions (15) and receiving yards (1,179). His 15 touchdown catches marked the first time any player had caught 15 or more touchdowns in a single college season.

That year’s Gator Bowl was Florida State’s first major bowl game. And the Seminoles had to face the celebrated Oklahoma Sooners, a true powerhouse program.

Tensi wasn’t bothered. A giant rarely is. He completed 23 passes for 303 yards and five touchdowns against the Sooners.

As for Biletnikoff, he was, well, himself. Wriggling and darting, he made the Sooner secondary look like they were trying to find their way out of a labyrinth. Along the way, he caught 13 passes for 192 yards and four touchdowns.

For the first time in Gator Bowl history, two players won co-MVP: Steve Tensi and Fred Biletnikoff.

By the end of the season, Biletnikoff had earned a Consensus All-America selection. And, as we all know, there’s also this award thing that now bears his name.

Steve Tensi and Fred Biletnikoff in 1964 jump-started what would become the Florida State Seminoles, the team that few fans today can remember as anything other than one of college football’s perennial programs.