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

29. Dan Marino and Julius Dawkins, Pitt

One is world renown and a Hall of Famer by every metric. Some still consider him the best of all time. The other is a 12-round NFL Draft pick who’s best days were with the other. Dan Marino obviously got the best out of Julius Dawkins, but this shouldn’t take away from what he did to jump-start his quarterback’s career.

The numbers aren’t eye-popping, but remember what era this is. There are zero players from the 1970s and only three players in the 1980s in the top 100 receiving seasons. Still, Marino was able to find Dawkins for paydirt a lot.

The two paired for 16 of Marino’s 37 touchdowns in 1981. Against Army, Dawkins caught four touchdown passes in a route. Pitt was on the way to putting together its best season thanks to the duo. The only blemish on Pitt’s record was a loss to Penn State right before the season ended. Just for good measure, they faced No. 2 ranked Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and they won a classic. Dawkins’s third-quarter touchdown catch gave the Panthers its first lead of the game. They ended up winning the game 24-20.

Dawkins was an All-American in 1981 despite only putting up 767 yards (again, it was a different time). That’s the best way to evaluate wide receivers back then. There weren’t the dozens of awards for all positions that exist today. He wasn’t up for the Biletnikoff like the stars of today are.

Marino is one of the best players in college football lore. He was living and dying on his arm (as his 79 career touchdowns and 69 career interceptions show). When Dawkins fell off in his senior year, so did Marino’s stats. However, when they were both juniors, it was *chef’s kiss*.