Clutch plays carry Vols to Atlanta

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer frequently tells his teams that people remember what they do in November.

It is a safe bet no one will forget the classic the Volunteers and Kentucky staged in their season finale Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.

Tennessee (9-3, 6-2) went from safe to survival after the Wildcats (7-5, 3-5) erased a 17-point second-half deficit to send the game into overtime tied 31-all. Roughly one hour and four extra periods later, the Vols emerged as SEC Eastern Division champions following their 52-50 nail-biting conquest of Kentucky.

"What a way to make a living, huh?" Fulmer quipped after watching his Vols wrap up a five-game winning streak that propels them to the SEC Championship Game and a date with LSU on Saturday.

"Our team has some shortcomings, but heart and fight aren't one of them," Fulmer said.

It would have been difficult to script Saturday's scenario on a Hollywood set. Consider the circumstances from an ebb-and-flow perspective …

* Tennessee scored on a 65-yard pass from quarterback Erik Ainge to tailback Arian Foster on the first play from scrimmage. Ainge went on to throw for 271 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone as the Vols surged to a 24-7 advantage at intermission.

* The Volunteers were ahead 31-14 late in the third quarter, but Kentucky quarterback Andre' Woodson rallied the 'Cats with a pair of touchdown passes to give the 'Cats a chance at 31-28 late in the fourth period.

* Woodson and the Wildcats went 90 yards on their final possession and wound up with four snaps inside the Tennessee 5 in the final minute of regulation. Kentucky even got to the 1-yard line before the Vol defense stiffened and forced a short field goal at the horn to send the contest to overtime.

* With the score knotted 38-all after the first extra period, Kentucky was poised for the win after forcing an Ainge interception. That momentum was quickly quelled, however, when defensive tackle Dan Williams blocked Lones Seibers' 35-yard field goal attempt to force a third overtime.

* Both teams scored, but missed two-point conversion attempts to leave the score deadlocked 44-all after three extra periods. Despite a 15-yard penalty prior to opening its drive, Ainge found a streaking Quintin Hancock for a 40-yard touchdown to put UT back on top again in the fourth frame. His subsequent two-point conversion pass to Austin Rogers ensured that Kentucky would have to find the end zone twice to force a fifth overtime.

* The 'Cats took care of the first order of business with a 2-yard scoring run by Derrick Locke to make it 52-50. Woodson was searching for an open receiver on the conversion attempt when Tennessee defensive end Antonio Reynolds tackled him from behind, knocking the ball loose and ending Kentucky's comeback 2 yards shy.

And that doesn't even include Tennessee dropping five passes and two potential interceptions that could have effectively ended the game in the fourth quarter and any of the four overtimes. In the end, Vol players were simply glad those miscues did not come back to haunt them.

"Coach Fulmer tells us every week there are ebbs and flows to every game. We just have to ride them out and hope for the best," said middle linebacker Jerod Mayo, who finished with a game-high 19 tackles.

"We have got to thank God because we probably should have lost that game four times over," added Ainge, who threw for a career-high 397 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions.

"The heart of this team is absolutely second to none to anyone in this country," Ainge said. "There were about two or three times where it should have been over."

Woodson finished with 430 yards passing and six touchdowns to lead the Wildcats, who have now lost to Tennessee 23 years in a row.

"It was a great college football game, but the way I look at it the wrong team ended up winning," Kentucky coach Rick Brooks said. "The streak lives."

And the Vols are headed for Atlanta and a shot at the SEC crown.