One of the beauties of college football is so few teams play strong defense and instead opt for high-powered offences. With the majority of team choosing to ‘air it out’ there is an array of impressive talent on display in the passing game. Let’s take a look at the best quarterback-wide receiver tandems.
Jameis Winston and Rashad Greene – Florida State
4,010 passing yards and 40 touchdowns is not your average freshman season but, then again, Winston is not your average quarterback. The youngsters meteoritic rise to the top of the college game came with plenty of assistance, however, and in particular from Greene. The junior was a reliable outlet for ‘famous Jameis’ as he roped in a team-high 76 balls for 1,128 yards and nine touchdowns. Greene decided to remain at Florida State for his senior season meaning he and Winston will be making a splash once again.
Marcus Mariota and Braylon Addison - Oregon
Mariota will likely enter the year as the Heisman trophy favorite and it is easy to see why when you look at the Ducks’ roster. Addison hauled in 61 passes for 890 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore. Josh Huff graduated and turned professional so that leaves Addison as the number-one receiver. Mariota can do it in the air and on the ground but his 31 touchdowns and four interceptions just a year ago makes it easy to see why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation.
Bryce Petty and Antwan Goodley – Baylor
The Baylor offense is geared perfectly for Petty to display his big arm and sublime deep ball. 250 completions resulted in over 4,000 yards and 32 touchdowns. But what is surprising is only three interceptions came from his 403 pass attempts. Goodley was Petty’s favorite target and he returns for his senior season on the back of a 1,339-yard, 13 –touchdown season.
Braxton Miller and Devin Smith – Ohio State
Miller is one of the top retuning quarterbacks in college football and he is also an early Heisman favorite. Despite missing a third of his junior year he still tallied over 2,000 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. Smith, on the other hand, played 2013 as the second wide receiver behind Corey Brown. Still, plenty of balls came his way and he caught 44 passes, eight of which touchdowns. With Brown now a graduate Smith is promoted and should see Miller looking his way often.
Taylor Kelly and Jaelen Strong – Arizona State
Playing in a tough Pacific-12 conference the Sun Devils rarely have a lot to shout about, but that changed last year when a powerful offense took to the field. In his second season as starter Taylor Kelly had a wonderful 3,635-yard, 28 touchdown season that should set him up beautifully for his senior campaign. Strong was integral to Kelly’s development and he exploded onto the scene with 75 catches, 1,122 receiving yards and seven touchdowns as a freshman. If these two give a repeat performance they may upset a few big names in 2014.
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