| 1961 Rice Owls football | |
|---|---|
 1961 team portrait from The Campanile | |
Bluebonnet Bowl, L 7–33 vs. Kansas | |
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Record | 7–4 (5–2 SWC) |
| Head coach |
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| MVP | Les "Butch" Blume |
| Captain | Ray Alborn, John Burrell, Roland Jackson |
| Home stadium | Rice Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Texas + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Arkansas + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rice | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas A&M | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TCU | 2 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baylor | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas Tech | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 1 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1961 Rice Owls football team was an American football team that represented Rice University as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1961 college football season. In their 22nd year under head coach Jess Neely, the Owls compiled a 7–3 record (5–2 in conference games), finished in third place in the SWC, and outscored opponents by a total of 176 to 125. They concluded their season with a 33–7 loss to Kansas in the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl[1]
Halfback Butch Blume scored 74 points to break Rice's single-season scoring record, and fullback Roland Jackson led the team with 415 rushing yards. Jackson, end John Burrell, and tackle Robert Johnston received first-team honors on the 1961 All-Southwest Conference football team.
The Owls were ranked No. 7 in the AP writers poll early in the season, but dropped out of the rankings following their September 30 loss to Georgia Tech. They have not been ranked in the AP poll since that time. In the 50 years after the 1961 season, the Owls have had only one winning season.
The Owls played their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas.
- ^ "1960 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 2, 2018.