The 1961 Rice Owls football team was an American football team that represented Rice University as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1961 college football season. In their 22nd year under head coach Jess Neely, the Owls compiled a 7âÂÂ3 record (5âÂÂ2 in conference games), finished in third place in the SWC, and outscored opponents by a total of 176 to 125. They concluded their season with a 33âÂÂ7 loss to Kansas in the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl
Halfback Butch Blume scored 74 points to break Rice's single-season scoring record, and fullback Roland Jackson led the team with 415 rushing yards. Jackson, end John Burrell, and tackle Robert Johnston received first-team honors on the 1961 All-Southwest Conference football team.
The Owls were ranked No. 7 in the AP writers poll early in the season, but dropped out of the rankings following their September 30 loss to Georgia Tech. They have not been ranked in the AP poll since that time.
The Owls played their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas.
The 1961 Owls gained an average of 174.0 rushing yards and 90.3 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up an average of 175.6 rushing yards and 118.7 passing yards per game.
Rice halfback Les "Butch" Blume, a 5'9" clarinetist from LaGrange, Texas, scored 74 points in the regular season to win the 1961 Southwest Conference scoring championship. His point tally included six field goals and broke Dicky Moegle's Rice scoring record of 72 points in 1954.
Fullback Roland Jackson led the team with 415 rushing yards on 88 carries in 10 regular season games for an average of 4.7 yards per game. Other leading rushers included Butch Blume (308 yards, 44 carries, 5.6-yard average) and Randall Kerbow (249 yards, 72 carries, 3.5-yards average).
The team's passing leaders were quarterbacks Randall Kerbow (37-for-79, 505 yards, three touchdowns, six interceptions) and Billy Cox (23-for-52, 287 yards, five touchdowns, one interception). The leading receivers were Johnny Burrell (seven catches, 133 yards) and Gene Raesz (eight catches, 112 yards).
The team's tri-captains were tackle Ray Alborn, end John Burrell, and fullback Roland Jackson.
Halfback Les "Butch" Blume won the George Martin Award as the team's most valuable player.
Three Rice players received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) or the United Press International (UPI) on the 1961 All-Southwest Conference football team: Roland Jackson at fullback (AP-1, UPI-1); John Burrell at end (AP-1); and Robert Johnston at tackle (AP-1).
The principal players featured in The Campanile yearbook were: