1964 Florida State Seminoles football team

American college football season

1964 Florida State Seminoles football
Gator Bowl, W 36–19 vs. Oklahoma
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
Record	9–1–1
Head coach	Bill Peterson (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Crutchfield (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Don James (3rd season)
Home stadium	Doak Campbell Stadium
Seasons ← 1963 1965 →

1964 NCAA University Division independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 3 Notre Dame		–		9	–	1	–	0
Florida State		–		9	–	1	–	1
Colgate		–		7	–	2	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		7	–	3	–	0
Syracuse		–		7	–	4	–	0
Villanova		–		6	–	2	–	0
Boston College		–		6	–	3	–	0
Southern Miss		–		6	–	3	–	0
New Mexico State		–		6	–	4	–	0
Penn State		–		6	–	4	–	0
Memphis State		–		5	–	4	–	0
Utah State		–		5	–	4	–	1
Holy Cross		–		5	–	5	–	0
Buffalo		–		4	–	4	–	1
Colorado State		–		5	–	6	–	0
Air Force		–		4	–	5	–	1
Miami (FL)		–		4	–	5	–	1
Xavier		–		4	–	5	–	1
Army		–		4	–	6	–	0
Idaho		–		4	–	6	–	0
West Texas State		–		4	–	6	–	0
San Jose State		–		4	–	6	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		3	–	5	–	2
Navy		–		3	–	6	–	1
Dayton		–		3	–	7	–	0
Detroit		–		3	–	7	–	0
Boston University		–		2	–	7	–	0
Houston		–		2	–	6	–	1
Texas Western		–		0	–	8	–	2

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1964 Florida State Seminoles football team was an American football team that represented Florida State University as an independent during the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. In their fifth season under head coach Bill Peterson, the Seminoles compiled a 9–1–1 record, were ranked No. 11 in the final UPI Coaches Poll, defeated Oklahoma in the Gator Bowl, and outscored opponents by a total of 263 to 85.^[1]

After five losses and a tie in the first six games of the Florida–Florida State football rivalry, the Seminoles defeated Florida 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."^[2]

The team's statistical leaders included Steve Tensi with 1,986 passing yards, Phil Spooner with 682 rushing yards, and Fred Biletnikoff with 1,179 receiving yards and 90 points scored (15 touchdowns).^[3] 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.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	at Miami (FL)		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)	W 14–0	51,605	^[5]
September 26	at TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	W 10–0	18,167	^[6]
October 3	New Mexico State		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 36–0	> 25,000	^[7]
October 10	No. 5 Kentucky		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 48–6	34,248	^[8]
October 17	at Georgia	No. 10	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	W 17–14	31,000	^[9]
October 24	at VPI	No. 10	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	L 11–20	22,000	^[10]
October 31	Southern Miss		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 34–0	26,142	^[11]
November 7	at Houston		Rice Stadium Houston, Texas	T 13–13	16,000	^[12]
November 14	NC State		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 28–6	24,250	^[13]
November 21	Florida		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	W 16–7	43,000	^[14]
January 2, 1965	vs. Oklahoma		Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	W 36–19	50,408	^[15]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

WR Fred Biletnikoff, Sr.
QB Steve Tensi
Phil Spooner

Season summary

Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Seminoles	7	7	0	0	14
Hurricanes	0	0	0	0	0

Date: September 19
Location: Orange Bowl
Game attendance: 51,065

Scoring summary

Q1	2:03	FSU	Biletnikoff 15 yard pass from Tensi (Murdock kick)	FSU 7–0

Q2	0:46	FSU	Biletnikoff 16 yard pass from Tensi (Murdock kick)	FSU 14–0

Fred Biletnikoff 9 Rec, 165 Yds

^[16]

Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
Gators	0	0	0	7	7
• Seminoles	0	7	3	6	16

Date: November 21
Location: Doak Campbell Stadium
Game attendance: 43,000

Scoring summary

Q2	10:57	FSU	Biletnikoff 55 yard pass from Tensi (Murdock kick)	FSU 7–0

Q3	10:37	FSU	Murdock 24 yard field goal	FSU 10–0

Q4	12:03	FSU	Murdock 34 yard field goal	FSU 13–0

Q4	9:03	FLA	Harper 6 yard run (Hall kick)	FSU 13–7

Q4	6:42	FSU	Murdock 40 yard field goal	FSU 16–7

Florida State accepted the Gator Bowl bid following the victory.

^[17]

References

^ "1964 Florida State Seminoles Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
^ Tom McEwen (November 22, 1964). "FSU 17 Years Later: From Volleyball to Grid Age". The Tampa Tribune. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1964 Florida State Seminoles Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 9. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
^ "Seminoles Blank Miami 14-0". Tallahassee Democrat. September 20, 1964. pp. 1A, 2B – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Alert FSU Tops TCU 10-0". Tallahassee Democrat. September 27, 1964. p. 7B – via Newspapers.com.
^ "FSU Swats Aggies 36-0". Tallahassee Democrat. October 4, 1964. pp. 1A, 6B – via Newspapers.com.
^ Jim Selman (October 11, 1964). "It's the Upset State Now: FSU, Gators Kill 'Cats, Rebs". The Tampa Tribune. pp. 1D, 5D – via Newspapers.com.
^ Bil McGrotha (October 18, 1964). "FSU Edges Georgia 17-14". Tallahassee Democrat. pp. 1A, 3B – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tribe Suffers First Defeat: Shweickert Gobbles Up Seminoles 20-11". Tallahassee Democrat. October 25, 1964. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Explosive Florida State Bombs Hapless Southern". Tallahassee Democrat. November 1, 1964. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.
^ Bill McGrotha (November 8, 1964). "Tribe Tied By Houston 13-13". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.
^ Bill McGrotha (November 15, 1964). "FSU Hems Up Wolfpack 28-6". Tallahassee Democrat. pp. 3B, 4B – via Newspapers.com.
^ Jim Selman (November 22, 1964). "Seminoles 16-7 'First' Earns Jax Trip --- FSU Kicks 'Gator' Out of Bowl". The Tampa Tribune. pp. D1, D6 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Bassine, Bob (January 3, 1965). "Seminoles Fill Airways, Gun Down Oklahoma". Orlando Sentinel. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
^ NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2016-Dec-15.
^ NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2016-Dec-18.

v t e Florida State Seminoles football
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