[2] Brunner played under head coach Tubby Raymond and led the Delaware Fighting Blue Hens to the NCAA Division II Football Championship in his only year as a starter in 1979.

He also served as a backup in 1978 (behind future NFL player Jeff Komlo) and helped UD advance to the NCAA Division II championship game.

The Giants defeated the Los Angeles Rams 10–7 and the St. Louis Cardinals 20–10, setting up a season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, in which a win would clinch their first playoff berth since 1963.

In the Wild Card game versus the Philadelphia Eagles that year, Brunner went 9-of-14 for 96 yards with three touchdowns and one interception while Rob Carpenter ran for a game-high 161 yards as the Giants forced two first quarter turnovers to build a 20–0 lead in an eventual 27–21 win over the Eagles, which was their first road postseason win in franchise history.

[3] In the Divisional Round versus the San Francisco 49ers, Brunner went 16-of-37 for 290 yards to go with three touchdowns and two interceptions to go with two fumbles as the 49ers led for most of the game in a 38–24 result.

Brunner was traded to the Denver Broncos on April 27, 1984, in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick (used to select linebacker Gary Reasons) to serve as backup quarterback to John Elway.