1957 Rice Owls football team

Last updated

1957 Rice Owls football
SWC champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 7–20 vs. Navy
Conference Southwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 8
Record7–4 (5–1 SWC)
Head coach
Home stadium Rice Stadium
Seasons
  1956
1958  
1957 Southwest Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 8 Rice $ 5 1 07 4 0
No. 11 Texas 4 1 16 4 1
No. 9 Texas A&M 4 2 08 3 0
SMU 3 3 04 5 1
Arkansas 2 4 06 4 0
TCU 2 4 05 4 1
Baylor 0 5 13 6 1
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1957 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University during the 1957 NCAA University Division football season. [1] The Owls were led by 18th-year head coach Jess Neely and played their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. They competed as members of the Southwest Conference, winning the conference with a conference record of 51. After two consecutive losing seasons in 1955 and 1956, Rice bounced back to finish the 1957 regular season with a record of 7–3. They won the last four games of the regular season, including a victory over the undefeated and number one-ranked Texas A&M Aggies, coached by Bear Bryant. The Owls were ranked eighth in the final AP Poll and seventh in the final Coaches Poll, which were conducted before bowl season. Rice was invited to the 1958 Cotton Bowl Classic, held on New Year's Day, where they were defeated by fifth-ranked Navy.

The season-opening victory vs. 1957 is the Owls' most recent at Tiger Stadium. Rice is 0–14–1 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana since.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 21at LSU *W 20–1450,912 [2]
October 5No. 17 Stanford *W 34–7
October 12No. 5 Duke *No. 15
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
L 6–752,000
October 19at SMU No. 19W 27–2136,000
October 26at No. 19 Texas No. 13L 14–1948,000 [3]
November 2 Clemson *
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
L 7–20
November 9No. 12 Arkansas
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
W 13–7
November 16No. 1 Texas A&M No. 20
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
W 7–6
November 23at TCU No. 13W 20–0
November 30 Baylor No. 9
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
W 20–043,000
January 1vs. No. 5 Navy *No. 8
L 7–2075,504 [4] [5]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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The 1957 Ole Miss Rebels football team represented the University of Mississippi during the 1957 NCAA University Division football season. The Rebels were led by 11th-year head coach Johnny Vaught and played their home games at Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi. They competed as members of the Southeastern Conference, finishing in second with a regular season record of 8–1–1, and were ranked 7th in the final AP Poll. They were invited to the 1958 Sugar Bowl, where they defeated Texas, 39–7.

The 1954 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University during the 1954 college football season. The Owls were led by 15th-year head coach Jess Neely and played their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. They competed as members of the Southwest Conference, finishing tied for third. Rice finished the regular season with a record of 7–3 overall, and were ranked 19th in the final AP Poll.

The 1955 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University during the 1955 college football season. The Owls were led by 16th-year head coach Jess Neely and played their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. They competed as members of the Southwest Conference, finishing in last. Despite starting the year with high expectations, ranked 11th in the preseason AP Poll, the Owls had a disastrous season, finishing winless in conference and 2–7–1 overall. It was Rice's first losing season since 1945.

The 1960 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University during the 1960 NCAA University Division football season. The Owls were led by 21st-year head coach Jess Neely and played their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. They competed as members of the Southwest Conference, finishing tied for second. After losing the season opener to Georgia Tech, Rice went on a five game winning streak, reaching as high as 10th in the AP Poll. After losing to SWC foes Arkansas and Baylor, they dropped from the rankings. Regardless, Rice received an invitation to the 1961 Sugar Bowl, played on New Years Day, where they were defeated by co-national champion Ole Miss.

The 1961 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University during the 1961 NCAA University Division football season. The Owls were led by 22nd-year head coach Jess Neely and played their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. They competed as members of the Southwest Conference, finishing in third. Rice finished the regular season with a record of 7–3. Their September 30th loss to Georgia Tech was the last time they were ranked in the AP Poll (#7) as Rice began to fade from the national spotlight in the 1960s. The Owls were invited to the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl, played at their home Rice Stadium, where they were defeated by Kansas. Rice would not make another bowl game again until the 2006 New Orleans Bowl.

References

  1. "1957 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  2. "Rice defeats LSU by 20–14, late rally topples Tigers". The Daily Advertiser. September 22, 1957. Retrieved October 8, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Long run gives Texas victory". The El Paso Times. October 27, 1957. Retrieved April 30, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Tom Forrestal leads Navy to 20-7 victory over Rice". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 2, 1958. p. 18.
  5. Ratliff, Harold (January 2, 1958). "Forrestal pilots Navy in 20-7 rout of Rice". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 17.