Last Time

[SWCmember]

Does anybody know the last time SMU and Rice met with both having winning records and a Bowl at stake for the winner?

[Stallion]

I believe Rice had some quality teams in the 1948-1950 time period in which that might have happened. I know it has been at least that.

[Dukie]

Rice went to the Cotton Bowl in '49. Ironically, the last time both teams were bowl-eligible wasn't long ago ('97), but neither 7-4 Rice nor 6-5 SMU went anywhere.

Given how bad Rice was during SMU's good years in the late sixties, late seventies, and early eighties, Stallion has to be right.

[ponyte]

1980 to my knowledge. Both SMU and Rice (at that time late in the season) were looking at possible bowl games. A win over Rice guaranteed SMU a bowl bid (Holiday). A loss for SMU and its bowl chances rested on the final two games. Rice had to win out their season for a bowl. SMU won and thus spared itsel, one the indignity of losing to Rice and, two the indignity of going to the Independence Bowl.

[DickerJames]

From looking at both schools all time records, I can't see where Rice ever spoiled an SMU season. We have never been in synch with our best years. I do think you could say we spoiled their 1997 season when they finished 7-4 and didn't get a bid becacuse of the WAC's pitiful bowl ties. The only other possible year we spoiled something for them would be 1954 when they finished 7-3, but I don't know if 8-2 would have gotten them a bowl or not.

[Dukie]

Similarly, I don't know if a 6-5 Rice would've gone to a bowl in '80 even had they beaten SMU (in their third-to-last game).

[Big10Ponyfan]

I believe Rice had some quality teams in the 1948-1950 time period in which that might have happened. I know it has been at least that.

Rice had that 1949(?) team that went to the Cotton Bowl and beat Alabama. That involved the infamous play on Dickie Moegel when the Alabama player standing on the sideline tackled Moegel as Moegel was going to score on a long touchdown run. The officials gave Moegel the score.

[Stallion]

I believe the Dickie Maegle team was in 1955 or 56 against Alabama when SMU was down. People forget Rice won about 3-4 SWC championships from 1949-1960.UPDATE: I checked it -Maegle was in the 1953 season and 1954 Cotton Bowl and SMU gave Rice its only loss that season.

[ponyte]

Similarly, I don't know if a 6-5 Rice would've gone to a bowl in '80 even had they beaten SMU (in their third-to-last game).

In 1980 when SMU played Rice, Rice was 4-4 with wins over LSU, TCU, TX A$M, and Arkansas. Had Rice won against SMU, lost the next week to Baylor (which Rice did) and won against UH in the last game (which Rice did), a 6-5 Rice may have gone to a bowl. Arkansas went to the All-American bowl that year with a 6-5 record. One could argue that Rice with a 6-5 record may have gotten the bid over Ark since Rice had beaten Ark. It is possible that the SMU victory over Rice prevented a 6-5 record and possible Rice Bowl game in 1980.

[Dukie]

Well, I think "I don't know if ..." allows that it's possible. But bowls, then and today, look a lot more at butts in seats (and dollars in their pockets) when picking teams than they do at any notions of fairness, which is what picking based on head-to-head records would entail. I don't think a 6-5 Rice in 1980 would have fared any better than 7-4 Rice in '96 and '97. But regardless, you are correct, 1980 was the second-to-most-recent year that Rice and SMU both had any kind of bowl possibilities going into the game.

[ponyte]

Well, I think "I don't know if ..." allows that it's possible. But bowls, then and today, look a lot more at butts in seats (and dollars in their pockets) when picking teams than they do at any notions of fairness, which is what picking based on head-to-head records would entail. I don't think a 6-5 Rice in 1980 would have fared any better than 7-4 Rice in '96 and '97. But regardless, you are correct, 1980 was the second-to-most-recent year that Rice and SMU both had any kind of bowl possibilities going into the game.

The SMU-Rice game was broadcast by ESPN that year. During the pre-game, the broadcasters discussed that the game had bowl implications for both teams. You may well be correct that Rice didn’t have a chance that year at 6-5 and that the ESPN announcers were just trying to pump up ratings. The fact is that SMU won and Rice never had a chance (whether real or imagined) for a bowl after that.

[Dukie]

ESPN was younger that year than my fourteen-month-old nephew is today. Being on ESPN in 1980 was about like being on CSTV today -- ESPN as we know it really began when they landed NFL broadcasts in '87.

[mrydel]

ESPN in those days showed one game a week and then replayed it daily until the next Saturday when they showed the next live game. When SMU beat Texas in McIhenny's debut, it was on ESPN. I reveled in getting to watch the game every day for a week. They would show it at different times and I would have to set an alarm for some of them and get out of bed to watch it at the wee hour times.

ps: I was much younger then also.

[SWCmember]

I nearly forgot Rice in 1980, they beat Texas A&M, Houston, Arkansas and LSU that year. They did not get to beat Texas like SMU did that year though,and they had to wait till 1994. SMU got a pretty good run after beating Texas and it was a good game till the @$%&^**! death penalty