1946 Rice Owls football team

1946 Rice Owls football
SWC co-champion
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 8–0 vs. Tennessee
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
APNo. 10
Record9–2 (5–1 SWC)
Head coach
Home stadiumRice Field
Seasons
← 1945
1947 →
1946 Southwest Conference football standings
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

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]

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.

  1. ^ a b "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.