1946 Rice Owls football team
The 1946 Rice Owls football team was an American football team that represented Rice University during the 1946 college football season.[1] The Owls were led by seventh-year head coach Jess Neely and played their home games at Rice Field in Houston. Rice competed as a member of the Southwest Conference, winning a share of the conference title with Arkansas with a 5–1 conference record. The team ended the regular season ranked 10th in the final AP Poll with an 8–2 record. They were invited to the 1947 Orange Bowl, played on New Year's Day, where they defeated SEC co-champion Tennessee.
| 1946 Rice Owls football | |
|---|---|
Southwest Conference co-champion Orange Bowl champion | |
Orange Bowl, W 8–0 vs. Tennessee | |
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 10 |
| 1946 record | 9–2 (5–1 SWC) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Rice Field |
| 1946 Southwest Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 10 Rice + | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 Arkansas + | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Texas | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas A&M | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TCU | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baylor | 0 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Carl F. "Buddy" Ross led Rice and ranked 11th nationally with 690 rushing yards and averaged 5.31 yards per carry.[2]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 28 | LSU* | L 6–7 | ||||
| October 5 | Southwestern (TX)* |
| W 48–0 | |||
| October 12 | at Tulane* | W 25–6 | 45,000 | [3] | ||
| October 19 | SMU | No. 16 |
| W 21–7 | ||
| October 26 | No. 3 Texas | No. 16 |
| W 18–13 | 30,000 | [4] |
| November 2 | Texas Tech* | No. 8 |
| W 41–6 | 25,000 | |
| November 9 | at Arkansas | No. 5 | Little Rock, AR | L 0–7 | ||
| November 16 | at Texas A&M | No. 14 | W 27–10 | |||
| November 23 | TCU | No. 12 |
| W 13–0 | ||
| November 30 | Baylor | No. 13 |
| W 38–6 | ||
| January 1, 1947 | vs. No. 7 Tennessee* | No. 10 | W 8–0 | 36,152 | [5] | |
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After the season
The 1947 NFL Draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Owls were selected.[6]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 120 | Carl Russ | Back | Chicago Cardinals |
| 25 | 230 | Johnny Kelly | Back | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 26 | 242 | H. J. Roberts | Guard | Philadelphia Eagles |
References
- "1946 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
- W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 80.
- "Rice's fast flowing T proves too strong for Tulane gridders". Waco Tribune-Herald. October 13, 1946. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Wilbur Evans (October 27, 1946). "Owls Stage Big Upset as They Wallop Steers: Rice Zooms To New High With Victory". Sunday American-Statesman. pp. 1, 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Thousands Thrilled By Bowl Spectacle". Miami Daily News. January 2, 1947. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "1947 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.