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
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
APNo. 10
1946 record9–2 (5–1 SWC)
Head coach
Home stadiumRice Field
1946 Southwest Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 10 Rice + 5 1 09 2 0
No. 16 Arkansas + 5 1 06 3 2
No. 15 Texas 4 2 08 2 0
Texas A&M 4 2 04 6 0
SMU 2 4 04 5 1
TCU 2 4 02 7 1
Baylor 0 6 01 8 0
  • + Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Carl F. "Buddy" Ross led Rice and ranked 11th nationally with 690 rushing yards and averaged 5.31 yards per carry.[2]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 28LSU*L 6–7
October 5Southwestern (TX)*
  • Rice Field
  • Houston, TX
W 48–0
October 12at Tulane*W 25–645,000[3]
October 19SMUNo. 16
W 21–7
October 26No. 3 TexasNo. 16
W 18–1330,000[4]
November 2Texas Tech*No. 8
  • Rice Field
  • Houston, TX
W 41–625,000
November 9at ArkansasNo. 5Little Rock, ARL 0–7
November 16at Texas A&MNo. 14W 27–10
November 23TCUNo. 12
  • Rice Field
  • Houston, TX
W 13–0
November 30BaylorNo. 13
  • Rice Field
  • Houston, TX
W 38–6
January 1, 1947vs. No. 7 Tennessee*No. 10W 8–036,152[5]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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
14120Carl RussBackChicago Cardinals
25230Johnny KellyBackPhiladelphia Eagles
26242H. J. RobertsGuardPhiladelphia Eagles

References

  1. "1946 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
  2. 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.
  3. "Rice's fast flowing T proves too strong for Tulane gridders". Waco Tribune-Herald. October 13, 1946. Retrieved April 11, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  4. 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.
  5. "Thousands Thrilled By Bowl Spectacle". Miami Daily News. January 2, 1947. p. 1 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "1947 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.


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