| Year: | 1916 |
| Team: | Rice Owls |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Southwest Conference |
| Short Conf: | SWC |
| Record: | 6–1–2 |
| Conf Record: | 2–1 |
| Head Coach: | Philip Arbuckle |
| Hc Year: | 5th |
| Captain: | W. E. Brown |
| Stadium: | Rice Field |
The 1916 Rice Owls football team was an American football team that represented Rice University as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1916 college football season. In its fifth season under head coach Philip Arbuckle, the team compiled a 6–1–2 record (2–1 against SWC opponents) and outscored opponents by a total of 346 to 62.[1] [2]
On November 17, 1916, the team scored 146 points against SMU. This remains the single-game scoring record for a Rice football team.[3] Rice scored 23 touchdowns in the game, including six by left halfback Griffith Vance. The Houston Daily Post wrote that Vance's work was the "outstanding feature of the game", describing a "wonderful side step" and "quick change of pace" that enabled him to run through the entire SMU team several times for touchdowns.[4]