Associated Press
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ó The Tennessee Volunteers sent coach Phillip Fulmer out after 17 seasons with one last win over Kentucky.
The Vols (5-7, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) cruised to a 28-10 win over the Wildcats on Saturday night to extend the nation’s longest active winning streak by one team over another to 24 games.
They also avoided becoming the first team in Tennessee history to lose eight games in a season.
An already bowl-eligible Kentucky (6-6, 2-6) was hoping to impress the bowl scouts and avoid a third straight Music City Bowl bid.
With only a few minutes left in the game and the score 28-3, fans began chanting “Phillip Fulmer” ó a far cry from the boos they delivered him many times this season as the Vols struggled. He was carried off the field on the shoulders of several of his players.
Fulmer announced Nov. 3 that he was accepting Tennessee’s decision for this season to be his last coaching the Vols. He said last week after their win at Vanderbilt that November had been like a “three-week long funeral.”
About 150 friends and former players gathered for a pregame reception with Fulmer.