Tennessee football: Ranking Vols last 10 seasons with first-year coordinator

3. 1993

10-2 (7-1)

David Cutcliffe (OC)

Now this one is a bit tricky. David Cutcliffe filled in for Phillip Fulmer as offensive coordinator while Fulmer stepped up to fill in for Johnny Majors in 1992 as head coach for four games. Together, they went 3-0 in the regular season. But the decision wasn’t permanent until the bowl game, when Fulmer replaced Majors full-time.

As a result, 1993 is Tennessee football’s first season with Cutcliffe as full-time offensive coordinator. And he had never held that role at the FBS level before. Still, he had been with the Vols for 11 years and loved to adapt his systems to his quarterback.

In 1993, the Vols had a rare dual-threat in Heath Shuler, who was a trendsetter with his skills at the time. Cutcliffe reacted to his talent by trying to get his offense to score every play, and it seemed like that happened.

In nine of 12 games that year, the Vols broke 34 or more points. They broke 45 or more for four straight games down the stretch of the season, and they had notable wins over the Louisville Cardinals and Georgia Bulldogs.

A heartbreaking regular season loss to the Florida Gators on the road was the only major blemish. But later that year, Fulmer’s team ended the No. 2 ranked and defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide’s 28-game winning streak dating back to 1991. It also ended Bama’s seven-game winning streak over UT specifically, and this was all in Birmingham.

Here’s the problem: at the time, that game was a tie. UT built a 17-9 lead late, and Alabama scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion to end it in a tie. Later, the game would be forfeited to the Vols as a win. Tennessee football ending that streak either way, though, is a notable part of the season.