Fulmer's Vols started the season ranked #15. The Vols dropped their opening game to the #12 California Golden Bears by a score of 45–31. After a 39–19 win over Southern Miss, the Vols dropped a game to #5 Florida Gators by a score of 59–20. They won their next three games, a 48–27 victory over Arkansas State, a 35–14 upset against #12 Georgia, and a 33–21 victory over Mississippi State. The next week, Tennessee suffered a setback in a 41–17 loss to Alabama. Tennessee went on a five-game winning streak to close out the season, which included a 27–24 victory over #15 South Carolina. The Vols finished with a 9–3 record, won the SEC East, and qualified for the SEC Championship. Against #5 LSU, the Vols fell 21–14. In the 2008 Outback Bowl against Wisconsin, the Vols won 21–17 to finish 10–4 and #12 in the final AP Poll. 2008 season The Vols started the 2008 season as #18 in the country. The team dropped their season opener to UCLA by a score of 27–24 in overtime and fell out of the rankings. In the next game, the Vols got their first victory of the a season, a 35–3 result against UAB. Tennessee dropped their next two games against #4 Florida by a score of 30–6 and #15 Auburn by a score of 14–12. After a narrow 13–9 victory over Northern Illinois, the Vols dropped a game by a score of 26–14 to #10 Georgia. The Vols recorded their first conference win in the next game against Mississippi State 34–3 before dropping a 29–9 result to #2 Alabama and a 27–6 result to South Carolina to fall to 3–6. After the 3–6 start, Fulmer came under increased scrutiny from Tennessee fans, leaving skepticism about how long he would remain Tennessee's head football coach despite having just received a contract extension after the 2007 season. Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton finally notified Fulmer of his dismissal on November 2, 2008. The next day, he agreed to step down as head coach following the season. That week, the Vols suffered a loss at the hands of Wyoming, a 26-point underdog. Fulmer completed his long tenure at the University of Tennessee with a 28–10 win over Kentucky on November 29, 2008. Lane Kiffin was hired by Mike Hamilton to succeed Fulmer as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers. Legacy Fulmer had a