1961 Bluebonnet Bowl

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

1961 Bluebonnet Bowl
1234 Total
Kansas 66138 33
Rice 0700 7
DateDecember 16, 1961
Season1961
StadiumRice Stadium
LocationHouston, Texas
Attendance52,000
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
Bluebonnet Bowl
 < 1960  1962

The 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Rice Owls and the Kansas Jayhawks.

Background[edit]

This was the Owls' sixth bowl game in 14 years, and second in the year of 1961, having appeared in the Sugar Bowl in January, though they had lost the last two. This was the Jayhawks' first bowl game since 1948.

Game summary[edit]

Rice was playing the game on its home turf, in the second annual Bluebonnet Bowl. Ken Coleman of Wichita ran for a 1 yard touchdown for Kansas, but the extra point fell short. Johnny Burrell caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Randy Kerbow to give Rice a 7-6 lead. When Kansas was forced to punt later in the quarter, John Hadl mishandled the snap and ran 41 yards to give the Jayhawks crucial position. Coleman would score his second touchdown of the day to give Kansas a 12-7 lead at halftime. Rodger McFarland and Curtis McClinton both scored on rushing touchdowns on reverse plays to give Kansas a 25-7 lead by the fourth quarter, and McFarland scored his second touchdown in the fourth quarter to make the final score 33-7, giving Kansas their first ever bowl win.[1]

Aftermath[edit]

This would be the last bowl game for the Owls until 2006. The Jayhawks would return to a bowl game in 1969.

Statistics[edit]

Statistics Kansas Rice
First Downs 21 11
Yards Rushing 293 58
Yards Passing 64 163
Total Yards 357 221
Punts-Average 3-37.0 6-31.0
Fumbles Lost 0 3
Penalty Yards 15 0

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Archived copy". www.riceowls.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)