1977 Stanford Cardinals football team

1977 Stanford Cardinals football
1977 Stanford Cardinals football
Sun Bowl champion
Sun Bowl, W 24–14 vs. LSU
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 15
Record	9–3 (5–2 Pac-8)
Head coach	Bill Walsh (1st season);
Home stadium	Stanford Stadium
	Seasons ← 1976 1978 →

1977 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 Washington $	6	–	1	8	–	4
No. 15 Stanford	5	–	2	9	–	3
No. 13 USC	5	–	2	8	–	4
California	3	–	4	7	–	4
Washington State	3	–	4	6	–	5
Oregon	1	–	6	2	–	9
Oregon State	0	–	7	2	–	9
UCLA †	0	–	2	0	–	4

$ – Conference champion † – UCLA forfeited 7 wins (5 conference wins) due to ineligible players. Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Stanford Cardinals football team represented Stanford University in the Pacific-8 Conference during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. Led by first-year head coach Bill Walsh, Stanford ended the regular season with an 8–3 record (5–2 in Pac-8, tie for second).

The Cardinals were led by senior quarterback Guy Benjamin, who won the Sammy Baugh Trophy, awarded to the best passer in college football; senior receiver James Lofton, who caught 57 passes for 1,010 yards and 14 TDs and was named an AP and NEA Second Team All-American; junior linebacker Gordy Ceresino, and freshman running back Darrin Nelson.^[1]

On New Year's Eve, Stanford defeated LSU 24–14 in the Sun Bowl for their ninth win.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] and climbed to fifteenth in the final rankings.^[6]

Walsh, previously the offensive coordinator of the NFL's San Diego Chargers, was hired the previous December.^[7]^[8]^[9] He had been an assistant at Stanford under John Ralston from 1963 through 1965 and spent eight seasons as an assistant with the expansion Cincinnati Bengals under head coach Paul Brown.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	at No. 12 Colorado*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		L 21–27	50,482
September 17	at Tulane*	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 21–17	30,482	^[10]
September 24	Illinois*	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		W 37–24	50,500
October 1	Oregon	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		W 20–10	36,500
October 8	UCLA	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		W 32–28	64,500
October 15	at Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA		L 21–45	46,529
October 22	Washington State	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		W 31–29	47,500
October 29	at Oregon State	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR		W 26–7	20,196
November 5	at No. 16 USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)		L 0–49	65,101
November 12	San Jose State*	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)		W 31–26	39,000
November 19	California	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (Big Game)		W 21–3	87,500
December 31	LSU*	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl)	CBS	W 24–14	31,318	^[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1977 Stanford Cardinal football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`7`	Guy Benjamin	Sr
WR	`30`	James Lofton	Sr
RB	`31`	Darrin Nelson	Fr
OT	`72`	Gordon King	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`95`	Gordy Ceresino	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Bill Walsh (1st year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Denny Green – Running backs
Rod Dowhower – Wide receivers
Tom Lovat – Offensive line
Doug Single – Offensive line
Fred von Appen – Defensive line
Russell Charles – Linebackers
Norb Hecker – Linebackers
George Seifert – Defensive backs

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Awards and honors

Guy Benjamin, Sammy Baugh Trophy
James Lofton, AP and NEA Second Team All-American selection

All-conference

NFL draft

Four Cardinals were selected in the 1978 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
James Lofton	WR	1	6	Green Bay Packers
Gordon King	T	1	10	New York Giants
Guy Benjamin	QB	2	51	Miami Dolphins
Bill Kellar	WR	7	184	Kansas City Chiefs

Source^[12]

List of Stanford Cardinal in the NFL draft

References

^ Migdol, Gary (1997). Stanford: Home of Champions. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. p. 168. ISBN 1-57167-116-1.
^ "Stanford passes sink LSU, 24-14". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 1, 1978. p. D8.
^ "Cardinals win a duel in the Sun". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. January 1, 1978. p. 3C.
^ "Cards win classic match". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 1, 1978. p. 5B.
^ "Stanford Game-by-Game Results; 1977–1981". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
^ "It might not add up, but Irish are clearly No. 1". Eugene REgister-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. January 4, 1978. p. 5B.
^ "Bill Walsh named Card grid mentor". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. December 13, 1976. p. 14.
^ "Stanford hires Walsh". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 13, 1976. p. 3C.
^ "Walsh ready to go". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. December 14, 1976. p. 6.
^ "Last quarter rally sparks Cards to win". The San Francisco Examiner. September 18, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Cards upset LSU". The San Francisco Examiner. January 1, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1978 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.