| Sport: | football |
| Year: | 1977 |
| Team: | Stanford Cardinals |
| Conference: | Pacific-8 Conference |
| Short Conf: | Pac-8 |
| Record: | 9–3 |
| Conf Record: | 5–2 |
| Coachrank: | 15 |
| Aprank: | 15 |
| Hc Year: | 1st |
| Champion: | Sun Bowl champion |
| Bowl Result: | W 24–14 vs. LSU |
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.
See main article: 1977 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team.
Four Cardinals were selected in the 1978 NFL draft.
| 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 |