The 1947 Rice Owls football team was an American football that represented Rice University in the Southwest Conference during the 1947 college football season. In its eighth season under head coach Jess Neely, the team compiled a 6–3–1 record (4–2 against conference opponents), finished third in the conference, was ranked No. 18 in the final AP Poll (No. 7 in the final Litkenhous Ratings), and outscored opponents by a total of 202 to 74.^[1][2]

Quarterback Tobin Rote led the team on offense. Two Rice players received first-team honors from the Associated Press on the 1947 All-Southwest Conference football team: center Joe Watson and guard J.W. Magee.^[3]

The played its home games at Rice Field in Houston.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27	at LSU*		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 14–21	46,000	[4]
October 4	at USC*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	T 7–7	64,231	[5]
October 11	Tulane*	No. 16	Rice Field Houston, TX	W 33–0	28,000	[6]
October 18	at SMU	No. 15	Ownby Stadium Dallas, TX (rivalry)	L 0–14	23,000	[7]
October 25	at No. 3 Texas		War Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	L 0–12	48,000	[8]
November 1	Texas Tech*		Rice Field Houston, TX	W 40–7	16,000	[9]
November 8	Arkansas		Rice Field Houston, TX	W 26–0	26,000	[10]
November 15	Texas A&M		Rice Field Houston, TX	W 41–7	31,000	[11]
November 22	at TCU	No. 20	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	W 7–0	5,000	[12]
November 29	Baylor	No. 18	Rice Field Houston, TX	W 34–6	20,000	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings