1977 Stanford Cardinals football team

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).

1977 Stanford Cardinals football
Sun Bowl champion
Sun Bowl, W 24–14 vs. LSU
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 15
APNo. 15
1977 record9–3 (5–2 Pac-8)
Head coach
Home stadiumStanford Stadium
(c. 85,500, grass)
1977 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
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 –7     0 –11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • † – UCLA forfeited 7 wins (5 conference wins) due to ineligible players.
Rankings from AP Poll

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
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 10at No. 12 Colorado*
L 21–2750,482
September 17at Tulane*
W 21–1730,482
September 24Illinois*
W 37–2450,500
October 1Oregon
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
W 20–1036,500
October 8UCLA
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
W 32–2864,500
October 15at Washington
L 21–4546,529
October 22Washington State
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
W 31–2947,500
October 29at Oregon State
W 26–720,196
November 5at No. 16 USC
L 0–4965,101
November 12San Jose State*
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA (rivalry)
W 31–2639,000
November 19California
W 21–387,500
December 31LSU
W 24–1431,318
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster
1977 Stanford Cardinal football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 7 Guy Benjamin Sr
WR 30 James Lofton Sr
RB 31 Darrin Nelson Fr
T 72 Gordon King Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 95 Gordy Ceresino Jr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Awards and honors

All-conference
Main article: 1977 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team

NFL Draft

Four Cardinals were selected in the 1978 NFL Draft.

Player Position Round Overall Franchise
James LoftonWR16Green Bay Packers
Gordon KingT110New York Giants
Guy BenjaminQB251Miami Dolphins
Bill KellarWR7184Kansas City Chiefs
Source[10]

References
  1. Migdol, Gary (1997). Stanford: Home of Champions. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. p. 168. ISBN 1-57167-116-1.
  2. "Stanford passes sink LSU, 24-14". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 1, 1978. p. D8.
  3. "Cardinals win a duel in the Sun". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. January 1, 1978. p. 3C.
  4. "Cards win classic match". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 1, 1978. p. 5B.
  5. "Stanford Game-by-Game Results; 1977–1981". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
  6. "It might not add up, but Irish are clearly No. 1". Eugene REgister-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. January 4, 1978. p. 5B.
  7. "Bill Walsh named Card grid mentor". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. December 13, 1976. p. 14.
  8. "Stanford hires Walsh". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 13, 1976. p. 3C.
  9. "Walsh ready to go". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. December 14, 1976. p. 6.
  10. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1978.htm
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