1951 Rice Owls football team

1951 Southwest Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 11 TCU $	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
No. 9 Baylor	4	–	1	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
Texas	3	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Rice	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Texas A&M	1	–	3	–	2	5	–	3	–	2
Arkansas	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
SMU	1	–	4	–	1	3	–	6	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP poll

The 1951 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University during the 1951 college football season.^[1] The Owls were led by 12th-year head coach Jess Neely and played their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. The team competed as members of the Southwest Conference, finishing tied for third.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 29	Clemson*		Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 14–20	35,000	^[2]
October 6	at LSU*		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 6–7	44,000	^[3]
October 13	Navy*		Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 21–14	58,000	^[4]
October 20	at No. 15 SMU		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	W 28–7	53,000	^[5]
October 27	at No. 10 Texas		Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	L 6–14	50,000	^[6]
November 3	Pittsburgh*		Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 21–13	26,000	^[7]
November 10	No. 20 Arkansas		Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 6–0		^[8]
November 17	Texas A&M	No. 19	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 28–13	58,000	^[9]
November 24	at TCU	No. 18	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	L 6–22	25,000	^[10]
December 1	No. 9 Baylor		Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 13–34	45,000	^[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^ "1951 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
^ "Clemson nips Owls, 20–14". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 30, 1951. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Rice Owls drop 7 to 6 defensive scrap to LSU". Wichita Falls Times. October 7, 1951. Retrieved February 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Drake passing lifts Owls over Navy, 21–14". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. October 14, 1951. Retrieved March 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Rice Owls drop Southern Methodist Mustangs, 28–7". Pampa Daily News. October 21, 1951. Retrieved March 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Texas comes from behind to beat Rice". The Monitor. October 28, 1951. Retrieved February 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Jack Gates (November 4, 1951). "Drake Sparks Owls Past Pitt". Waco Tribune-Herald. p. 2, sec. II. Retrieved July 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Owls whip Hogs, 6–0". The Victoria Advocate. November 11, 1951. Retrieved March 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Rice rides deadly passing game to beat Aggies". Wichita Daily Times. November 18, 1951. Retrieved March 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "TCU beats Rice to go into lead". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. November 25, 1951. Retrieved March 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bears lash Rice, 34–13, take Orange Bowl bid". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. December 2, 1951. Retrieved March 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

Rice Owls football
Venues	West End Park (1912, 1914–1915) Rice Field (1913–1949) Rice Stadium (1950–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Houston SMU Texas
Culture & lore	Sammy the Owl "Rice Fight" Marching Owl Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
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