1957 Rice Owls football team
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 5–1. 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. 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 Years' Day, where they were defeated by fifth-ranked Navy.
| 1957 Rice Owls football | |
|---|---|
Southwest Conference champion | |
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 7–20 vs. Navy | |
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 7 |
| AP | No. 8 |
| 1957 record | 7–4 (5–1 SWC) |
| Head coach | Jess Neely (18th season) |
| Home stadium | Rice Stadium |
| 1957 Southwest Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Rice $ | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 Texas | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Texas A&M | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TCU | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baylor | 0 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 21 | at LSU* | W 20–14 | ||
| October 5 | No. 17 Stanford* | W 34–7 | ||
| October 12 | No. 5 Duke* | No. 15 |
| L 6–7 |
| October 19 | at SMU | No. 19 | W 27–21 | |
| October 26 | at No. 19 Texas | No. 13 | L 14–19 | |
| November 2 | Clemson* |
| L 7–20 | |
| November 9 | No. 12 Arkansas |
| W 13–7 | |
| November 16 | No. 1 Texas A&M | No. 20 |
| W 7–6 |
| November 23 | at TCU | No. 13 | W 20–0 | |
| November 30 | Baylor | No. 9 |
| W 20–0 |
| January 1 | vs. No. 5 Navy* | No. 8 |
| L 7–20 |
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