Pregame: After this game, Phillip Fulmer will no longer represent the Tennessee Volunteers as head football coach. It's definitely weird to even try to picture another coach in his place next season. The Vols face a tough challenge in the Kentucky Wildcats, who took them to four overtimes last season in Lexington.

The Wildcats almost upset the Georgia Bulldogs three weeks ago, 42-38. Randall Cobb leads the way for the Wildcats. The multiple-threat quarterback is from nearby Alcoa and chose Kentucky over Tennessee during his recruitment.

Tennessee has won 23 straight games in the series and will need to establish a run game if they want to make it 24. Kentucky's rush defense is No. 50 in the nation giving up 136.3 rushing yards per game. The flip side of the equation features a Tennessee run game that averages 115 per game, good for No. 96 out of 119 teams.

1^st Quarter  8:05: The Tennessee defense holds strong in its own territory forcing the Wildcats to punt from their own 34-yard line. Jonathan Crompton starts the game for the Vols from their 5-yard line. As usual with Crompton, the Vols get nothing established going three-and-out.

1^st Quarter :55:  Kentucky converts a 40-yard field goal by Lones Seiber. Gerald Jones returns the Kentucky kickoff for 39 yards to the UT 47. An impressive drive by the Tennessee offense stalls at the 14-yard line. Arian Foster actually did something noteworthy, running the ball the way he used to when he had something to prove. The drive results in no points as Daniel Lincoln missed a 31-yard field goal wide right. 3-0 UK.

2^nd Quarter 8:03: Crompton is sacked on third-and-10. Tennessee's offense can't get it going which is nothing new this season. The defense needs to force a turnover and score off it to give this team some momentum.

Halftime: Cobb is having some trouble avoiding the Tennessee defense. They've been in his face a number of times to open the game, however he did rush four times for 35 yards in the first quarter.

After driving to the UK 1-yard line, Tennessee makes the decision to go for it on fourth down. Crompton sneaks it in with no time left, giving UT its first score of the game. It was easily his best play of the season, as he has been very inefficient in each game he has played this year. 7-3 UT.

3^rd Quarter 13:44: Living up to his big-play capability, Denarius Moore catches a 63-yard touchdown pass from Crompton. It is the Vols' longest play from scrimmage this season, something Moore has done a couple times this season. Those are the plays the offense has been looking for since the opener against UCLA. 14-3 UT.

3^rd Quarter 8:41: The defense answers the call and shuts Kentucky down on fourth-and-2. Cobb was stopped for a 5-yard loss by Nevin McKenzie. The offense is setup with excellent field position but fails to capitalize going three up, three down.

End of 3^rd Quarter : The offense has set itself up in scoring position at the Kentucky 8-yard line. Safety Eric Berry used one of his snaps at quarterback to pick up 23 yards on a run play. If the Vols can score a touchdown here, it just may be the dagger that's needed to put Kentucky down.

4^th Quarter 14:24 : Lennon Creer runs the ball in upping the score to 21-3 after the Daniel Lincoln extra point. It's obviously going to be tough for the Wildcats to get back into this game. With the Vols defense harassing Cobb, UK will have to find a way to slow the UT pass rush down. Another interesting stat, Fulmer is 129-8 when leading after the third quarter.

4^th Quarter 5:44 :  The Vols are doing something they haven't been able to do all year. Have fun. Gerald Jones scores from two yards out on third down after he scampered for 55 yards to be ruled out at the 1-yard line. Kind of ironic that the offense has a big game during Fulmer's last. 28-3 UT.

End of Game: No. 152. The Vols hold on 28-10 and add another victory to Fulmer's career win-loss total making him plus-100 in his lifetime as a head coach. The offense established itself in the second half, erupting for big plays that led to three touchdowns.

It would have been interesting to see how this offense would function next season with an entire year under offensive coordinator Dave Clawson's scheme. Results can't be expected overnight when players have to learn a new system. I've always been an advocate of giving Clawson another year to see the results. Urban Meyer's system in Florida took a year to adapt to the SEC and I believe that Clawson needed this season to learn the conference inside and out.

Now that he is on his way out, the players who return are forced to learn their second system in as many years. For some, it will be their third offensive system in three, even four years.

Although the Vols had a disappointing season with no bowl game, there is a renewed excitement for next season. A new coach is coming, whether it be Lane Kiffin as reported, or someone else.