1963 Rice Owls football team

The 1963 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University during the 1963 NCAA University Division football season. In its 24th season under head coach Jess Neely, the team compiled a 6–4 record and outscored opponents by a total of 145 to 114.^[1] The team played its home games at Rice Stadium in Houston.

1963 Rice Owls football
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	6–4 (4–3 SWC)
Head coach	Jess Neely (24th season)
Home stadium	Rice Stadium
Seasons ← 1962 1964 →

1963 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Texas $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	0	–	0
Baylor	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Rice	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Arkansas	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
TCU	2	–	4	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
Texas Tech	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
SMU	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Texas A&M	1	–	5	–	1			2	–	7	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Walter McReynolds with 728 passing yards, Paul Piper with 475 rushing yards, and John Sylvester with 251 receiving yards.^[2] Two Rice players were selected by the Associated Press (AP) and/or United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1963 All-Southwest Conference football team: center Malcolm Walker (AP-1, UPI-1); and guard Johnny Nichols (AP-1).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28	LSU*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 21–12	64,000	[3]
October 5	at Penn State*	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	L 7–28	38,200	[4]
October 12	Stanford*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 23–13
October 19	SMU	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 13–7	52,000
October 26	at No. 1 Texas	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	L 6–10	64,130	[5]
November 2	at Texas Tech	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX	W 17–3	36,500
November 9	Arkansas	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 7–0
November 16	Texas A&M	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 6–13
November 30	Baylor	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 12–21	40,000
December 7	at TCU	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	W 33–7
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1963 Rice Owls Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
2. "1963 Rice Owls Statistics". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
3. "Rice passing attack sinks L.S.U." The Courier-Journal. September 29, 1963. Retrieved October 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Penn State gridders trounce Rice by 28-7". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. October 6, 1963. p. 57.
5. "Longhorns withstand Rice passes". The Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. October 27, 1963. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.