1966 Rice Owls football team

The 1966 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In its 27th and final season under head coach Jess Neely, the team compiled a 2–8 record, finished last in the conference, and was outscored by a total of 211 to 154.^[1] The team played its home games at Rice Stadium in Houston.

1966 Rice Owls football
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	2–8 (1–6 SWC)
Head coach	Jess Neely (27th season)
Home stadium	Rice Stadium
Seasons ← 1965 1967 →

1966 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 SMU $	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Arkansas	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Texas	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Texas A&M	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	1
Baylor	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Texas Tech	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
TCU	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Rice	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Robert Hailey with 859 passing yards, Robby Shelton with 607 rushing yards, Glen Hine with 323 receiving yards, and L.V. Benningfield and Robby Shelton with 36 points each.^[2] Two Rice players were selected by the Associated Press (AP) as first-team players on the 1966 All-Southwest Conference football team: fullback Lester Lehman and safety Chuck Latourette.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	LSU*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 17–15	63,000	^[3]
October 1	at No. 10 Tennessee*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	L 3–23	44,053	^[4]
October 8	No. 2 UCLA*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 24–27	33,000	^[5]
October 15	at SMU	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	L 24–28	30,000
October 22	Texas	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	L 6–14	67,500	^[6]
October 29	Texas Tech	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 19–35
November 5	at No. 8 Arkansas	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	L 20–31
November 12	Texas A&M	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 6–7
November 19	TCU	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 21–10
November 26	at Baylor	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	L 14–21	17,216
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1966 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
2. "1966 Rice Owls Statistics". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
3. "LSU has 28–12 victory; Crowd boos Dietzel". The Greenville News. September 18, 1966. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tennessee passes sink Rices, 23–3". Victoria Advocate. October 2, 1966. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "U.C.L.A. Rallies To Top Rice, 27-24". The New York Times. October 9, 1966.
6. "Texas 'Horns nudge Rice Owls in battle of sophomores, 14–0". The Shreveport Times. October 23, 1966. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.