Montario Hardesty broke loose for a 20-yard touchdown in overtime Saturday night to rescue Tennessee in the regular-season finale.A 30-24 victory over Kentucky before a capacity Commonwealth Stadium came hard but it kept the nation’s longest rivalry winning streak in place at 25 years.
Tennessee awaits a bowl bid at 7-5, 4-4 SEC.
Kentucky finishes 7-5, 3-5 SEC, and will play in a fourth consecutive bowl for the first time in program history.
Tennessee was in position to run out the clock on a 24-21 victory in regulation -- until tight end Luke Stocker fumbled after a reception with 2:21 to play at the Vols’ 37.
Kentucky got two nice runs from Randall Cobb and then tied the score with a 23-yard Lones Seiber field goal with 33 seconds on the clock.
That brought about overtime. Only this time it didn’t require four extra periods to settle it like the 2007 game here did.
Tennessee went on defense first, held Kentucky – thanks in part to Eric Berry slashing in to throw Derrick Locke for a 6-yard loss.
Then Seiber missed a 48-yard field-goal try.
The Vols went on offense and had to overcome a first-down holding penalty.
A 14-yard Jonathan Crompton pass to Gerald Jones reached the 20. On third-and-5, Hardesty burst free for his third touchdown of the game and it was over.
Kentucky led through most of the first three quarters.
Sam Maxwell’s 56-yard interception return gave the Wildcats an early lead.
Hardesty scored on runs of 9 and 13 yards, but Cobb scored on a 17-yard reverse and Locke punched in a 1-yard score to make it 21-14 at the half.
Tennessee dominated the third quarter.
The Vols got even at 21-21 on a 16-yard Crompton pass to Stocker.
Then Cobb lost a fumble and UT drove close enough for a 30-yard Devin Mathis field goal to gain its first lead of the game at 24-21.
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