1946 Rice Owls football team

The 1946 Rice Owls football team was an American football team that represented Rice University in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1946 college football season. In their seventh year under head coach Jess Neely, the Owls compiled a 9–2 record (5–1 against SWC opponents), tied with Arkansas for the conference championship, outscored all opponents by a total of 245 to 62, and were ranked No. 10 in the final AP Poll. They were invited to the 1947 Orange Bowl where they defeated SEC co-champion No. 7 Tennessee.^[1]

1946 Rice 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	Jess Neely (7th season)
Home stadium	Rice Field
Seasons ← 1945 1947 →

1946 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	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
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

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]

Back Carl Russ led Rice and ranked 11th nationally with 690 rushing yards and an average of 5.31 yards per carry.^[3] Guard Weldon Humble was a consensus first-team All-American.^[4] Five Rice players received honors from the Associated Press (AP) or United Press (UP) on the 1946 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 end Win Williams (AP-2, UP-2).^[5][6]

The team played its home games at Rice Field in Houston.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28	LSU*		Rice Field Houston, TX	L 6–7	26,000	^[7]
October 5	Southwestern (TX)*		Rice Field Houston, TX	W 48–0	16,000	^[8]
October 12	at Tulane*		Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 25–6	45,000	^[9]
October 19	SMU	No. 16	Rice Field Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 21–7		^[10]
October 26	No. 3 Texas	No. 16	Rice Field Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 18–13	30,000	^[11]
November 2	Texas Tech*	No. 8	Rice Field Houston, TX	W 41–6	25,000	^[12]
November 9	at Arkansas	No. 5	Quigley Stadium Little Rock, AR	L 0–7	17,000	^[13]
November 16	at Texas A&M	No. 14	Kyle Field College Station, TX	W 27–10	32,000	^[14]^[15]
November 23	TCU	No. 12	Rice Field Houston, TX	W 13–0	28,000	^[16]
November 30	Baylor	No. 13	Rice Field Houston, TX	W 38–6	20,000	^[17]
January 1, 1947	vs. No. 7 Tennessee*	No. 10	Burdine Stadium Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	W 8–0	36,152	^[18]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1946 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	—	16	16	8	5	14	12	13	10

After the season

Main article: 1947 NFL Draft

The 1947 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

References

1. "1946 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
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. 73.
3. 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.
4. "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
5. "Layne, Harris Only UT Player on AP Selection". The Austin American. December 3, 1946. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Claude Ramsey (December 5, 1946). "Layne, Harris Make UP's All-Conference". Austin American-Statesman. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Wilbur Evans (September 29, 1946). "LSU Beats Rice, 7-6: Fireworks All Crowded Into Final Period; 26,000 Fans Brave Elements to See Muddy Encounter". Sunday American-Statesman. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Helpless Southwestern Walloped by Rice". Sunday American-Statesman. October 6, 1946. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Rice's fast flowing T proves too strong for Tulane gridders". Waco Tribune-Herald. October 13, 1946. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Max B. Skelton (October 20, 1946). "Eikenberg's Passing, Keeney's Running Pace Rice Owls to 21-7 Win Over Outclassed SMU". The Galveston Daily News. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
11. 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.
12. Choc Hutcheson (November 3, 1946). "Potent Rice Owls Roll Over Raiders 41 To 6: Tech Suffers First Defeat Against Southwest Loop Foe". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Porkers Upset Rice On 4th-Quarter Pass Interception, 7 To 0: Hogs Throw Southwest Race Into Free For All". Sunday Courier-Times-Telegraph. Tyler, Texas. Associated Press. November 10, 1946. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Owls Come From Behind to Down Ags, 27-10: Eikerberg Sparks Rice With Two Touchdown Passes". The Galveston Daily News. Associated Press. November 17, 1946. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Lorin McMullen (November 17, 1946). "Rice Batters A&M, 27-10". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. pp. Sports 1, 4 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Amos Milton (November 24, 1946). "Owls Rap Frogs in Hard Fight, 13-0: Last Second-Half Touchdown Registered in Closing Minute". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. pp. Sports 1, 2 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Rice Owls Smash Baylor, 38-6: Clinch Tie For SW Loop Title". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Associated Press. December 1, 1946. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Thousands Thrilled By Bowl Spectacle". Miami Daily News. January 2, 1947. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "1947 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.