The best era for every current AAC football school

Rice Owls: Jess Neely's impressive 27-year tenure (1940-1966)

To most, Rice University has been an afterthought in the college football landscape. The current state of the Rice football program has been rough for decades. As of June 2024, they've racked up nine straight losing seasons. Some might remember the school being decently respectful in the late-2000s and early-2010s, which included four bowl berths and a ten-win season in 2008.

But believe it or not, there was a time when Rice wasn't seen as just a mediocre program in a Group of 5 conference. We'd have to go back to the old Southwest Conference days, specifically when Jess Neely was the coach from 1940-1966. For the younger crowd, the Southwest Conference featured all Texas schools and Arkansas. During this stretch, the Owls were one of the best teams in the SWC.

Neely arrived in Houston to help rebuild a Rice team that had won a Cotton Bowl just three years earlier but had fallen on hard times in the next two years after that. Neely had success at Clemson the year before, leading the Tigers to a Cotton Bowl win of their own. During his first six years at the helm, Rice had some success but some bumps as well. In 1940, Rice went 7-3.

In 1941, they went 6-3-1 and were ranked twelfth after beating Tulane in the second game. Tulane was still in the SEC at the time. In 1942, Rice went 7-2-1 before going through three losing years. Then the real fun began in 1946. The Owls started that year, winning three of their first four games before a showdown with No. 3 Texas. Rice had worked their way up to being ranked 16th before this matchup.

Rice scored a major 18-13 upset over the Longhorns and would rank as high as fifth. A 7-0 loss to Arkansas forced a split of the Southwest Conference title that year but it was Rice's first since 1937. They would finish tenth in the country after beating Tennessee 8-0 in the Orange Bowl. After a couple of down years, Rice got back to the top of the SWC in 1949.

The team would start 2-1 before playing No. 10 SMU in mid-October. A 41-27 beatdown skyrocketed Rice into the top 10. They would beat #10 Texas the next week and closed out the regular season on an eight-game winning streak, clinching the first outright SWC title in Neely's tenure. Rice would then beat #16 North Carolina in the Cotton Bowl, ending the year being ranked fifth in the country.

This remains the highest that Rice ended a season ranked. However, just like when the program won in 1946, a slight regression would happen over the next few years after achieving such a triumph. From 1950-52, the Owls would go a combined 16-14. This would eventually be a common theme during the Jess Neely era.

In 1953, Rice again became a legitimate contender in the Southwest Conference. They would start the year ranked twelfth and eventually went 8-2 during the regular season. Rice would get a piece of that season's conference title. Despite the Owls defeating Texas, a loss to SMU the week before prevented Rice from winning the SWC title outright.

Regardless, would claw into the No. 6 ranking at the end of the regular season. They would get a date with Alabama in another Cotton Bowl appearance, which the Owls would win 28-6. There would be no bowl action over the next three seasons but Rice still ranked 19th after a 7-3 finish in 1954. 1957 would be the last time Rice won the Southwest Conference under Jess Neely.

It was an up-and-down year for Rice, as they started 3-1. They lost by one point to a #5 Duke team during this stretch. However, they would lose to No. 19 Texas and unranked Clemson in consecutive weeks, eliminating any chance of being close to a National Championship. They would finish 7-3 and rank eighth in the country. They would earn a third trip to the Cotton Bowl but would lose to No. 5 Navy this time.

After missing the postseason for the next two years, which included a dismal 1-7-2 record in 1959, Rice would make two more bowl games during Neely's time. In 1960, Rice started 5-1. A win over No. 18 Florida got Rice back into the polls and eventually reached No. 10. Two losses to No. 16 Arkansas and No. 19 Baylor would have them fall out of the polls.

The school still reached the Sugar Bowl and made a valiant effort against No. 2 Ole Miss before falling 14-6. They ended 1960 at 7-4. 1961 started well with a 16-3 upset over No. 5 LSU, which got the school ranked again. However, as soon as they landed at No. 7, they lost to unranked Georgia Tech the next week and Rice wouldn't be ranked again.

A 7-3 record would get Rice into the Bluebonnet Bowl but they would fall to Kansas, 33-7. It would be Rice's last bowl game until 2006. During the final five years of Neely's tenure, Rice would only have one winning season, a 6-4 record in 1963. After ending 1966 with a 2-8 mark, Neely retired from coaching. Although the end was sour, the school accomplished a lot under his tutelage.

Six AP Post poll appearances, four top 10 appearances, four Southwest Conference titles, and three wins in major bowl games are enough to earn this nod as the best era in Rice history. Weldon Humble (1946), James Williams (1949), Dicky Maegle (1954), and Buddy Dial (1958) were all consensus All-Americans as well. Neely ranks 28th in college football history in career wins and the school hasn't sniffed a top 25 poll since he left.