The 1977 Sun Bowl game was a post-season

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

, part of the bowl schedule of the

1977 NCAA Division I football season The 1977 NCAA Division I football season was one in which the top five teams finished with 11–1 records. Notre Dame, which beat top-ranked and undefeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl, became the national champion. The 1977 season was the last ...

. Played on Saturday, December 31, it matched the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...

of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

and the Stanford Cardinals of the

Pacific-8 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. It was the 44th edition of the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

(43rd playing between collegiate teams). LSU running back Charles Alexander ran for 197 yards and a first half touchdown, but Stanford's defense held the Tigers scoreless in the second half, and quarterback

Guy Benjamin Guy Emory Benjamin (born June 27, 1955) is a former American football quarterback who played six seasons in the National Football League. College career Benjamin played high school football at James Monroe High School in North Hills, California ...

threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns on the day to lead the Cardinals to a 24–14 upset.

Teams

Stanford Cardinals

Stanford finished the regular season tied for second place in the Pac-8 conference under first-year head coach Bill Walsh, and was making its first ever non- Rose Bowl postseason appearance. (The Pac-8 had not allowed multiple bowl teams until the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

season.) The Cardinals were noted for their pass-heavy offense, led by

Sammy Baugh Trophy The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More th ...

-award winning quarterback

, wide receiver

James Lofton James David Lofton (born July 5, 1956) is an American former professional football player and coach. He is a former coach for the San Diego Chargers but is best known for his years in the National Football League as a wide receiver for the Gre ...

, and freshman running back

Darrin Nelson Darrin Milo Nelson (born January 2, 1959) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers. He played college football at Stanford University. Early years Nelson att ...

LSU Tigers

LSU finished third in the SEC behind long-time coach

Charles McClendon Charles Youmans McClendon (October 17, 1923 – December 6, 2001), also known as "Cholly Mac", was an American football player and coach. He served at the head coach at Louisiana State University from 1962 to 1979. McClendon was inducted into the ...

. The Tigers were led by running back Charles Alexander, the number two rusher in college football behind

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner

Earl Campbell Earl Christian Campbell (born March 29, 1955), nicknamed "the Tyler Rose", is an American former professional football player who played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. Kn ...

Game summary

After holding Stanford on its first possession, LSU marched 80 yards in nine plays and scored on a short pass play. Stanford answered on a long pass from Benjamin to Lofton to tie the score and added a Ken Naber field goal to move ahead, 10–7. Just before halftime, LSU running back Alexander scored on a seven-yard run to retake the lead, giving him 123 yards for the half. He would end with 197 yards on the day, establishing a new Sun Bowl rushing record, surpassing

Tony Dorsett Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is a former American football running back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. From Western Pennsylvania, Dorsett attended the ...

's 142 yards. He was named the game's offensive most valuable player. The second half was all Stanford. Benjamin threw two more touchdown passes, a short 2-yarder to Lofton and a 20-yard pass to Nelson. Benjamin ended the day 23 for 36 passing for 269 yards and three touchdowns, a Sun Bowl record. Lofton had 4 receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Stanford held LSU scoreless in the second half, and intercepted three passes. Linebacker

Gordy Ceresino Gordon Joseph "Gordy" Ceresino is a former professional American football linebacker who played one season with the San Francisco 49ers in 1979. Ceresino played college football for Stanford University and was named the most valuable defensive pla ...

recorded 22 tackles to lead the Cardinals, and was named the game's defensive MVP.

Scoring

First quarter *LSU - Mike Quintela 3-yard pass from Steve Ensminger (Mike Conway kick) Second quarter *Stanford -

49-yard pass from

(Ken Naber kick) *Stanford - Naber 36-yard field goal *LSU - Charles Alexander 7-yard run (Conway kick) Third quarter *Stanford - Lofton 2-yard pass from Benjamin (Naber kick) Fourth quarter *Stanford -

20-yard pass from Benjamin (Naber run)

Aftermath

Walsh led Stanford to another bowl win the next season in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, and then was hired as head coach of the NFL's

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, eventually leading them to three

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

titles in ten seasons. Stanford's football program slid after Walsh's departure, and they did not return to a bowl for eight years, at the

1986 Gator Bowl The 1986 Gator Bowl (December) game was a post-season college football bowl game between the 1986 Stanford Cardinal football team, Stanford Cardinal and the 1986 Clemson Tigers football team, Clemson Tigers, played on December 27, 1986, at Gator Bo ...

. Three years after retiring from the 49ers, Walsh returned to Stanford in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

and coached the Cardinal for three seasons and one bowl victory. Receiver Lofton played fifteen years in the NFL (mostly with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

) and, like Walsh, is a member of the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

. McClendon coached two more seasons for LSU, leading them to postseason appearances in the

1978 Liberty Bowl The 1978 Liberty Bowl, a college football postseason bowl game, took place on December 23, 1978, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The competing teams in the 20th edition of the Liberty Bowl were the LSU Tigers of the Southe ...

and 1979 Tangerine Bowl, and then retired from coaching. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1986. Alexander played for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

Super Bowl XVI Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

against Walsh's 49ers and is best known for being stopped inches short of the goal by San Francisco linebacker

Dan Bunz Dan Bunz (born October 7, 1955) is a former American football linebacker who played for the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) in an eight-year career that lasted from 1978 to 1985. Bunz played at Oakmont ...

on a third down pass in the third quarter with the 49ers leading, 20-7. The Bengals were held scoreless on that drive when Pete Johnson was stuffed on fourth down, helping the 49ers go on to a 26-21 victory.

References

External links

1977 Sun Bowl Home Movie
via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:1977 Sun Bowl (12)

Sun Bowl LSU Tigers football bowl games Stanford Cardinal football bowl games December 1977 sports events in the United States 1977 in sports in Texas