| 1946Rice Owls football | |
|---|---|
SWC co-champion Orange Bowl champion | |
Orange Bowl, W 8–0 vs.Tennessee | |
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 10 |
| Record | 9–2 (5–1 SWC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Home stadium | Rice Field |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 10Rice + | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16Arkansas + | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15Texas | 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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The1946 Rice Owls football team was anAmerican football team that representedRice Institute in theSouthwest Conference (SWC) during the1946 college football season. In their seventh year under head coachJess Neely, the Owls compiled a 9–2 record (5–1 against SWC opponents), tied withArkansas for the conference championship, outscored all opponents by a total of 245 to 62, and were ranked No. 10 in the finalAP Poll. They were invited to the1947 Orange Bowl where they defeated SEC co-champion No. 7Tennessee.[1]
Rice ranked fifth nationally in total defense, allowing opponents to gain an average of only 166.3 yards per game.[2] It also ranked fifth among 120 major college teams in scoring defense, allowing an average of 5.6 points per game.[1]
BackCarl Russ led Rice and ranked 11th nationally with 690 rushing yards and an average of 5.31 yards per carry.[3] GuardWeldon Humble was a consensus first-team All-American.[4] Five Rice players received honors from theAssociated Press (AP) orUnited Press (UP) on the1946 All-Southwest Conference football team: Carl Russ (AP-1, UP-1); Weldon Humble (AP-1, UP-1); back Huey Keeney (AP-1, UP-1); tackle Charles Malmberg (AP-2, UP-1); and endWin Williams (AP-2, UP-2).[5][6]
The team played its home games atRice Field inHouston.
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 28 | LSU* | L 6–7 | 26,000 | [7] | ||
| October 5 | Southwestern (TX)* |
| W 48–0 | 16,000 | [8] | |
| October 12 | atTulane* | W 25–6 | 45,000 | [9] | ||
| October 19 | SMU | No. 16 |
| W 21–7 | [10] | |
| October 26 | No. 3Texas | No. 16 |
| W 18–13 | 30,000 | [11] |
| November 2 | Texas Tech * | No. 8 |
| W 41–6 | 25,000 | [12] |
| November 9 | atArkansas | No. 5 | L 0–7 | 17,000 | [13] | |
| November 16 | atTexas A&M | No. 14 | W 27–10 | 32,000 | [14][15] | |
| November 23 | TCU | No. 12 |
| W 13–0 | 28,000 | [16] |
| November 30 | Baylor | No. 13 |
| W 38–6 | 20,000 | [17] |
| January 1, 1947 | vs. No. 7Tennessee* | No. 10 | W 8–0 | 36,152 | [18] | |
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| Week | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | — | 16 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 10 |
The1947 NFL draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Owls were selected.[19]
| 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 |
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