Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? Notre Dame was 3-1 against hated rival USC when Furjanic was there — yet 0-4 versus Air Force. The Irish defeated No. 1 Pitt on the road in 1982, but lost at home to Ari- zona and salvaged a 13-13 tie with 2-8-1 Oregon. The 1983 season, Furjanic's first as a starter, ended on a bitter note with three straight regular-season losses to finish 6-5. The team had originally voted down going to a bowl, but minds were changed. The Irish then upset 9-2 Boston College, led by quar- terback Doug Flutie, in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn. Furjanic was named the Defensive MVP with seven tackles, an intercep- tion and a deflection of the two-point conversion pass by Flutie that left the final score 19-18 in favor of the Irish. Furjanic described his junior sea- son as "a blur." The 3-1 start saw him injure his knee at Missouri, where he made 10 tackles and was awarded a game ball during the 16-14 victory. From the sidelines, he then watched his teammates get booed off the field in three consecutive home losses. So naturally, the Irish responded by finishing the regular season 4-0 with victories at SEC champ LSU, a 44-7 drubbing of the Tigers (at which time Furjanic returned to the lineup); and a 19-7 win at Pac-10 champ USC, Notre Dame's first victory in Los Angeles in 18 years. Another 7-5 season ended with a loss, though, to SMU in the Aloha Bowl. Furjanic was elected as a captain in 1985. By then, too much doubt had infiltrated the team. "In 1984, we had on our line Mike Gann, Eric Dorsey, Wally Kleine …" Furjanic said of two future second- round NFL Draft picks and one in the first round. "We had the talent all over. On offense, you had Mark Bavaro, Tim Brown, Allen Pinkett, Steve Beuerlein … "My senior year, we knew the writ- ing was on the wall. Gerry was a great person, but you can't have a high school coach … you're learning on the run, and learning means you're los- ing." The highlight for Furjanic was a third straight win over USC (37-3) — "I always wanted to kill them" — in which he recorded 17 tackles and was named the Associated Press Midwest Defensive Player of the Week. Alas, another 5-6 season ended the Faust era. An eighth-round NFL se- lection, Furjanic played two seasons Furjanic, who earned a marketing degree at Notre Dame, has worked in medical technology sales for 25 years. PHOTO COURTESY TONY FURJANIC