KNOXVILLE - Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer faced his longtime friend and former assistant for the first time as an opposing coach last year in the Volunteers' win over Mississippi.
But David Cutcliffe will not be standing across the field Saturday when the Rebels visit No. 10 Tennessee (2-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference).
A year ago in Oxford, Miss., the Rebels nearly upset Tennessee before the Vols rallied in the fourth quarter to escape with a 21-17 victory.
Ole Miss never recovered. They lost three of their final four games, then missed a bowl trip and fired Cutcliffe, a move Fulmer has criticized.
Many of Cutcliffe's former players will accompany new Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron in his first trip to Neyland Stadium.
"I am looking forward to going up to Knoxville and playing a very historically powerhouse Tennessee program," Orgeron, the former Southern California assistant, said.
The Rebels (1-2, 0-1) are reeling after back-to-back losses to Vanderbilt and Wyoming, but Fulmer sees many of the same players who gave the Vols problems last year.
"Coach Cutcliffe has recruited well there for them. Obviously he left them a good number of talented football players," Fulmer said.
Cutcliffe spent 17 seasons at Tennessee and was the Vols' offensive coordinator for the national championship season in 1998 when he was lured away by Ole Miss.
Cutcliffe was going to be Charlie Weis' quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame this season, but Cutcliffe resigned this summer after triple bypass heart surgery. Instead, he and his family moved back to Knoxville, and his son, Chris, got a spot as a student manager for the Tennessee football team.
Cutcliffe has attended some practices, and Fulmer said he'd probably talk to him this week about Ole Miss. Cutcliffe plans to go to the game.
"It makes me smile to see (defensive coordinator) John Chavis or (offensive coordinator) Randy (Sanders) or Phillip, but it's been more of a social thing. That's the way I've kept it," he told The Knoxville News Sentinel.
Fulmer was mad when he learned Cutcliffe was fired. He was more tightlipped about it this week but obviously still upset.
"There's a lot of things I'd like to say about all that," Fulmer said.
Cutcliffe nearly helped the Rebels end their losing streak against Tennessee, but last year's loss increased it to 11 straight.
Ole Miss' Bryan Brown intercepted Erik Ainge and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter of last year's game to put the Rebels ahead 17-14.
But Ainge completed a 30-yard pass to Bret Smith for a touchdown on the ensuing possession to put the Vols ahead, and Tennessee hung on for the victory.
Rebels defensive back Trumaine McBride had four tackles in the game and leads the SEC so far this season in passes defended with six.
"We got beat at the end, had a mental error, so hopefully this year we'll eliminate the mental errors and come out playing good," he said.
Another difference for Ole Miss in this year's game is at quarterback. Ethan Flatt started the game last year and rotated with Robert Lane and Micheal Spurlock. Flatt isn't even listed on the depth chart for Saturday's game, having been supplanted by Spurlock as the starter.
Lane started in place of Spurlock in last week's loss to Wyoming because Spurlock broke the middle finger on his left, non-throwing hand at Vanderbilt.
Spurlock played in the second half and is expected to start Saturday.
Tennessee has had some mixing around at quarterback, too. This week, Rick Clausen gets the start over Ainge after leading the Vols on a come-from-behind win at LSU on Monday.
