The 2016 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

The Owls played their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA).

They were led by tenth year head coach David Bailiff.

The 2016 schedule consisted of 6 home and 6 away games in the regular season.

The Owls hosted C–USA foes Florida Atlantic, North Texas, UTEP, and UTSA, and traveled to Charlotte, Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, and Western Kentucky (WKU).