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 |
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| Home stadium | Rice Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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
edit| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 24 | LSU* | W 17–15 | 63,000 | [3] | |||
| October 1 | at No. 10 Tennessee* | L 3–23 | 44,053 | [4] | |||
| October 8 | No. 2 UCLA* |
| L 24–27 | 33,000 | [5] | ||
| October 15 | at SMU | L 24–28 | 30,000 | ||||
| October 22 | Texas |
| L 6–14 | 67,500 | [6] | ||
| October 29 | Texas Tech |
| L 19–35 | ||||
| November 5 | at No. 8 Arkansas | L 20–31 | |||||
| November 12 | Texas A&M |
| L 6–7 | ||||
| November 19 | TCU |
| W 21–10 | ||||
| November 26 | at Baylor | L 14–21 | 17,216 | ||||
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References
edit- ^ "1966 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "1966 Rice Owls Statistics". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "LSU has 28–12 victory; Crowd boos Dietzel". The Greenville News. September 18, 1966. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tennessee passes sink Rices, 23–3". Victoria Advocate. October 2, 1966. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "U.C.L.A. Rallies To Top Rice, 27-24". The New York Times. October 9, 1966.
- ^ "Texas 'Horns nudge Rice Owls in battle of sophomores, 14–0". The Shreveport Times. October 23, 1966. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.