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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Cutcliffe Begins New Championship Process At Mississippi
11/12/1999 | Football
Nov. 12, 1999
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
OXFORD, Miss. -- Mississippi coach David Cutcliffe knows about all the years of "sweat and blood" needed to win a national title.
After all, the championship ring he received in September took him almost two decades to earn at Tennessee, where he was the offensive coordinator last season.
Now that process to build a champion is under way at Ole Miss, which despite being guaranteed its third straight winning season is far removed from its SEC titles and undefeated teams of the '50s and '60s.
Like most coaches, Cutcliffe has a long-range vision. His plan for Ole Miss includes more championships, but he says the work being done now is the most important.
"Without a foundation, we don't need to be focusing on the future," Cutcliffe said. "I don't think it's the proper time to talk about anything other than this 1999 team.
"We are still in the process of working and building the foundation and getting ourselves in reach of those ultimate goals."
So far, so good for the Rebels under Cutcliffe.
No. 18 Ole Miss is 7-2, virtually assured another postseason bowl berth and has a steadily improving offense that will have its entire backfield back next season.
And Tommy Tuberville is rarely talked about any more.
It has been easy for the Rebels to bury the memory of the former coach who left for supposedly greener pastures. Of course, a 24-17 overtime victory over Auburn and Tuberville in September sped up that process.
"Had we not won that game, I'm sure people would have had more hard feelings," Cutcliffe said.
There is no reason to be concerned with Mississippi's past, not with such a promising future. The coach used the same approach with the Volunteers, which gave him his championship ring just four days after his first game with the Rebels.
"That was over a culmination of 17 seasons. It didn't just happen last year," Cutcliffe said of Tennessee. "There was a lot of sweat and blood spilt way before that final game."
So, Ole Miss has some "spilling" to do.
The Rebels, off this weekend, had their best all-around effort of the year last Saturday, a 38-16 victory over Arkansas to avenge a 34-0 loss last season.
With Cutcliffe serving as his own offensive coordinator, Mississippi is moving the ball more effectively and appearing more comfortable in every game.
Sophomore defensive back Syniker Taylor, who caught a 78-yard TD pass on his first offensive play in college, also had one of the three interceptions as the defense held the Razorbacks out of the end zone until the fourth quarter. The special teams got Deuce McAllister's 100-yard kickoff return and a blocked punt to set up a field goal.
On offense, junior quarterback Romaro Miller threw for 232 yards and McAllister, a junior tailback, rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
"The offense came out and clicked as a whole unit," said Miller, who has six 200-yard passing games this season.
After the Arkansas game, Cutcliffe was asked how much of his offense had been installed. He held up his extensive play chart and said the Rebels haven't even gotten halfway through it.
"You need time where other kids are seeing other kids doing it. You learn in practice and you learn from seeing other kids fail and do it right," he said. "It's not just a matter of can you handle this many X's or O's."
One of the kids watching Miller is a freshman named Eli Manning, the youngest son Archie, the most well-known Ole Miss quarterback ever, and the little brother Peyton, the former Tennessee quarterback who was so successful under Cutcliffe before going on to the NFL.
The youngest Manning made his college choice just after Cutcliffe got to Ole Miss. Eli has been ready to play, but is being redshirted to have the chance to better grasp the system and have four full seasons left.
