1940 Rice Owls football team

1940 Rice Owls football
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	7–3 (4–2 SWC)
Head coach	Jess Neely (1st season)
Home stadium	Rice Field

1940 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Texas A&M $	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
No. 16 SMU	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	1
Texas	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Rice	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
TCU	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Arkansas	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Baylor	0	–	6	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1940 Rice Owls football team was an American football team that represented Rice University as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1940 college football season. In its first season under head coach Jess Neely, the team compiled a 7–3 record (4–2 against SWC opponents) and outscored opponents by a total of 131 to 78.^[1][2]

Rice was ranked at No. 21 (out of 697 college football teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score system for 1940.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 5	Centenary*	Rice Field Houston, TX	W 25–0		[4]
October 12	LSU*	Rice Field Houston, TX	W 23–0	23,000	[5]
October 19	at Tulane*	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	L 6–15	34,000	[6]
October 26	No. 12 Texas	Rice Field Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 13–0		[7]
November 2	Texas A&I*	Rice Field Houston, TX	W 9–6
November 9	at Arkansas	Bailey Stadium Fayetteville, AR	W 14–7
November 16	at No. 3 Texas A&M	Kyle Field College Station, TX	L 0–25
November 23	TCU	Rice Field Houston, TX	W 14–6
November 30	Baylor	Rice Field Houston, TX	W 21–12
December 7	No. 16 SMU	Rice Field Houston, TX (rivalry)	L 6–7
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1940 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
2. "Rice Owls 2017 Football Fact Book" (PDF). Rice University. 2017. p. 190.
3. Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 19, 1940). "Final 1940 Litkenhous Ratings". The Boston Globe. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Rice passing whips Centenary 25 to 0". The Shreveport Times. October 6, 1940. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Owls register impressive win over LSU, 23–0". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. October 13, 1940. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Tulane turns back Rice, 15–6, in ragged exhibition". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 20, 1940. Retrieved April 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Owls kick dope bucket into air with 13–0 win over Texas". Waco Tribune-Herald. October 27, 1940. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.