College football duos: Ranking the 32 best dynamic duos in modern history

13. Ki-Jana Carter and Kerry Collins, Penn State

Ki-Jana Carter is a name most might not remember anymore. He was supposed to be a can’t-miss prospect coming out of Penn State. Spoiler alert: he missed. But that was in the NFL. In college, he was one of the best running backs of the 90s.

Then, there was Kerry Collins. He’s someone most people will recognize. He played in a Super Bowl, put up 40,000 yards in the NFL and stayed relevant for two full decades. Before he was one of the best journeyman quarterbacks of all time, he was great for Penn State.

Collins took over the starting role in 1992. That’s the same year Carter started his career in Happy Valley. Their first year was nothing special. It was that second year together that the chemistry really started to trend towards greatness. Carter put up 1,000 yards on the ground and Collins passed for over 1,600 yards.

Then, that third season together might have been the best offense that Joe Paterno ever coached. Collins threw for 2,600 yards and 21 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Carter ran for 1,500 yards and scored a ridiculous 23 touchdowns. Only four running backs had more touchdowns that decade. Penn State went undefeated that season, despite not winning a National Championship.

Both Carter and Collins were Heisman Trophy candidates. Collins finished fourth and Carter finished second to Rashaan Salaam. They were one of the best offenses in Big Ten history and it was only their second year in the conference. Collins with his huge arm and Carter with his explosive ability to break a touchdown on every snap would have been unstoppable in today’s era. In their own era, they were done in by a system that just guessed who the National Champion was.