The 1964 Florida State Seminoles football team was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team that represented

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

as an independent during the

1964 NCAA University Division football season The NCAA was without a playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, later known as Division I-A, during the 20th century. The NCAA recognizes Division I-A national champions based on the final results of polls includi ...

. In their fifth season under head coach

Bill Peterson William E. Peterson (May 14, 1920 – August 5, 1993) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. His career included head coaching stops at Florida State University, Rice University and with the Houston Oilers o ...

, the Seminoles compiled a 9–1–1 record, were ranked No. 11 in the final UPI Coaches Poll, defeated

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

in the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televise ...

, and outscored opponents by a total of 263 to 85. After five losses and a tie in the first six games of the

Florida–Florida State football rivalry The Florida–Florida State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the teams of the two oldest public universities of the U.S. state of Florida: the University of Florida (UF) Gators and Florida State University (FSU) ...

, the Seminoles defeated

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

for the first time. The next day, the sports editor of ''The Tampa Tribune'' wrote: "Yesterday, on a technicolor afternoon of brisk wind and refreshing chill, in a stadium that maybe squeaked with an overload, FSU ceased to be the OTHER school, became the football team in this state in the year of 1964, will hereafter claim equal time in all things." The team's statistical leaders included

Steve Tensi Stephen Michael Tensi (December 8, 1942 – March 15, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Flor ...

with 1,986 passing yards, Phil Spooner with 682 rushing yards, and

Fred Biletnikoff Frederick Biletnikoff (born February 23, 1943) is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 14 se ...

with 1,179 receiving yards and 90 points scored (15 touchdowns). Biletnikoff led the country in receiving yards and also with 100 receptions, and was a consensus first-team end on the 1964 All-America team.

Schedule

Roster

*WR

, Sr. *QB

* Phil Spooner

Season summary

Miami (FL)

9 Rec, 165 Yds

Florida

Florida State accepted the Gator Bowl bid following the victory. NoleFan.org
Retrieved 2016-Dec-18.

References

{{Florida State Seminoles football navbox

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Florida State Seminoles football seasons Gator Bowl champion seasons

Florida State Seminoles football The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of American football. The Florida State Seminoles, Seminoles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FB ...