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.
[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.