FSU Single-Season Rushing TD Leaders: Allen Holds Record That May Never Be Broken

Dalvin Cook broke Warrick Dunn's single-season rushing yardage record at Florida State with an 11-yard carry against NC State in the fall of 2015. Cook went on to snap his own short-lived record the following season, just to remind us how great he was. But there's one longstanding record in Tallahassee that Cook was never able to surpass: Greg Allen's mark for single-season touchdowns.

Allen is not your typical red zone record-holder of a running back, weighing just 195 pounds in his prime. The track and field moonlighter's touchdown reel is a mix of explosive speed, home-run carries, and pure determination on the goal line that led to an incredible 20 TDs in 1982.

Which is more memorable, Allen's gallops from a watershed era in the Sunshine State, or all the fun that Tallahassee's top tailbacks have had trying to break his touchdown mark? Whatever the answer, all the heroics on handoffs have led to generations of success for the Seminoles.

Greg Allen was FSU's all-time leading rusher with 3,769 yards in his college career, until that record was broken by Warrick Dunn in 1996. But Allen, an All-American in 1983, has held the No. 1 spot for single-season TD rushes (20) in Tallahassee since 1982.

Allen was a consensus All-American in 1983 and received multiple All-American honors in 1984, including first-team selections from the Football News and Walter Camp. He was inducted into the Florida State Seminoles Hall of Fame only six years later. But it didn't take nearly that long for the Cleveland Browns draft pick to make an impression, having debuted by rumbling for 500-plus yards in a pair of rare freshman starting jobs. Imagine if the frosh-happy coaches of today had him!

Warrick Dunn was such a consistent running back that he posted three straight 1,000-plus yardage years in an era in which Florida State loved to pass the pigskin. Later to be named AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1997, Dunn comes in at third on the list for the team's most single-season rushing touchdowns with 13 TDs scored in FSU's Orange Bowl championship season of 1995.

In four seasons with the Florida State Seminoles, Dunn compiled 3,959 yards and 37 touchdowns. His 1,314 receiving yards from 132 catches in his FSU career influenced RBs around the United States to practice pass-catching and become dual-threats for their teams instead of just runners.

Finishing his college career at FSU as the all-time leading rusher with 4,464 yards. Cook cemented his name in Seminole history with 19 rushing touchdowns scored in both the 2015 and 2016 seasons, putting him in "silver medal photo-finish" position behind Allen's 20 in a single year. Forgoing his senior year, Cook entered the 2017 NFL Draft, where he was selected 41st overall by the Minnesota Vikings.

If Dunn revolutionized dual-threat running back play at FSU, Cook is the Seminole alum who has made NFL tacklers think another wide receiver is on the field, tearing up the National Football League with 237 career catches for nearly 2,000 yards over seven seasons through 2024-25.

Tallahassee fans might see a rusher like Bryson Daily of Army, who scored 32 touchdowns in 2024, and wonder why the best FSU running backs of modern day struggle to score over 15 while running behind a bigger, badder OL than Army could ever muster. The top 25 running backs of the 2020s get fewer red zone carries than their forefathers by design. Coaches use the fast, nimble tailbacks of the present day as dynamic weapons in the ground and aerial game, and prefer keeping them healthy.

Still, there's a chance that a Florida State rusher will come along who is so powerful near the pylons, the play-caller's method of keeping them fresh will be to utilize them almost exclusively in red zone situations. As more NFL teams like the Kansas City Chiefs use a "backfield by committee" strategy, college teams could follow suit with backfields that include speedsters, receivers … and TD kings.