There are five days left until Florida State football starts the 2018 season. As part of the offseason, we’re highlighting players, games, and specific moments from FSU football history.
On Tuesday, it was former FSU quarterback Peter Tom Willis and his school-record six touchdown passes in a 57-20 victory over Memphis in 1989.
Today, it’s legendary wide receiver Ron Sellers and his school-record five touchdown receptions in a 1968 Senior Day victory over Wake Forest.
Sellers would leave FSU in 1968 as the most accomplished wide receiver ever to play for the Seminoles. Many of his records set 50 years in a time where the passing game was less sophisticated stand today.
When it came to making plays at Doak Campbell Stadium, some might say that Sellers saved his best for last. When it came to scoring touchdowns, that was certainly true.
It was Senior Day in 1968 when Sellers caught five touchdown passes from quarterback Bill Cappleman in a 42-24 win over the Demon Deacons. Sellers finished the day with 14 catches for 260 yards — also a school-record.
Sellers helped FSU jump to a 14-0 lead with first-quarter touchdown catches of 26 and five yards before the Demon Deacons stormed back with 24 straight points to take a double-digit lead in the third quarter.
Sellers cut the lead to three with a 48-yard touchdown grab before Bill Gunter’s 3-yard touchdown run put the Seminoles ahead for good. Sellers would add a 28-yard touchdown before the quarter ended and another 30-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter for what would be the final home touchdown of his FSU career.
A 2-time All-American, Sellers would leave FSU as the school’s all-time leader in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. His FSU reception and yardage records would last 46 years until Rashad Greene eclipsed his totals in 2014.
His single-game yardage and touchdown records set in 1968 against Wake Forest however, remain. Sellers’ 5-touchdown performance may never be broken. Fred Biletnikoff is the only other Florida State player to ever catch as many as four touchdowns in a game.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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