College Football's Suprises/Disappointments

Tennessee had similar problems which were much ballyhooed in the media. There was a pretty fair number of Vols who had had brushes with the law and with school/team rules in the past 2 years. Even so, South Carolina had a higher number since the end of last season yet no one seemed to point too many fingers at Columbia.

 

Coach Fulmer's record at UT with Cutcliffe: 63-10, .863 pct. (6 seasons). Bowl record: 3-3. 1 SEC East title, 1 SEC title, 1 appearance in the 1998 "Alliance" national championship game ( a blowout loss to Nebraska).
Coach Fulmer's record at UT without Cutcliffe: 57-20, .740 pct. (6 seasons). Bowl record:2-4. 3 SEC East Titles, 1 SEC Title, 1 National Title.

While the numbers are better under Cutcliffe, with Sanders as OC, there was 1 National title, more East titles, and same amount of BCS appearances and conference championships.

What's not factored in is the changes underneath the OC that have happened since Cutcliffe took over Ole Miss.

Might all be moot. The OC job is probably Cutcliffe's if he wants it. The lynch mob claimed Sanders on Monday.

 

Tenn used 2 QBs to beat everyone except Auburn last year (the other 2 losses came with just one QB). Ohio State won the Rose Bowl in 1997 with 2 Qbs. Georgia won the SEC and the Sugar Bowl a couple of years ago with 2 QBs. There are more. Madden isn't always right.

To claim Fulmer is an average coach is to fail to take into consideration many factors, including the fact that he is considered the best talent evaluator in the south; Reached milestones only the greats have reached...and done it faster; His superlatives about road record against ranked teams, record as underdog escapes me right now.

Fulmer is one of the top 5 in the business. Period.

 

Sorry. We lost to 'Bama. That alone means the season is a waste. Rememeber that came along with losses to Florida and Georgia. Defeating ND, winning out and winning a bowl game will not redeem this season at the foot of the Smokies. The final nail in the coffin of this season was driven last Saturday night on a cool evening on the banks of the Tennesssee river. Not to say UT doesn't have anything to play for. We're Tennessee, the winningest program in America over the past 75 years. But this season cannot be redeemed as such. The over-hyped expectations are too much to overcome.

 

I'll look when I get some time (If you've read a newspaper or watched the news, you know I'm dealing with a tragedy in my backyard). However, it's been quoted on several recent broadcasts of UT games on national TV.

 

I'm trying to decipher your spelling.
Your top ten leaves a lot to be desired. First, you're overlooking one major fact: out of all the coaches you mention, Fulmer has a higher winning pct than all of them. In fact, it's the highest among any active coach.
Spurrier has the same amount of national titles as Fulmer. Beamer has never won one. Mike Price wouldn't make most people's top 30 coach list. Neither would Randy Walker of Northwestern, whose record since arriving in Evanston is 30-41. Les Miles might make a top 25 coach. He didn't fare well in his only shot at Fulmer.
Frank Solich is a good man who got jobbed at Nebraska. Good coach, not a great one, because he wasn't allowed to be great. I can't wait til the Bobcats of Ohio play Nebraska in a bowl game (if NEBRASKA ever gets back to one) and Ohio runs up the score on them.
You point out maybe five coaches that are worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as Fulmer, but that's about it.

You're absolutely right about Ole Miss. They would be much better off with Cutcliffe as head coach. Probably the only firing worse in recent years is the afore mentioned sacking of Solich in Lincoln.