By LARRY VAUGHT

LEXINGTON — Kentucky was so close to the historic win it desperately wanted.
Given a chance to end a 24-game losing streak to Tennessee, the Wildcats couldn’t do it. Instead, they settled for a field goal with 33 seconds left here Saturday night that tied the score 24-24 and then, just as every Kentucky-Tennessee game has ended since 1984, the Vols won.
This time it came when Kentucky lost six yards on three plays in overtime and missed a 48-yard field goal and then watched Tennessee overcome a 10-yard holding penalty to score on Montario Hardesty’s 20-yard run and win 30-24.
Instead of a victory, the Cats were left thinking about what might have been as senior linebacker Micah Johnson knelt stunned midfield, senior defensive tackle Corey Peters walked off the field with his arm around freshman quarterback Morgan Newton, and versatile Randall Cobb had to try to stay congenial as he talked to the many, many Tennessee players he knew since he grew up just outside Knoxville.
“We laid down the second half and they came out energized,” said Cobb, who ran for 101 yards and had 186 all-purpose yards. “I can’t say for sure what happened.”
Laid down?
“I am just telling you the truth. We came out flat the second half  and did not match their intensity. We wanted to get off to a fast start. We have been a great second half team, but tonight they dominated us,” Cobb said.
The Vols did that and only a gallant goal-line stand in the third quarter kept the game from turning into a rout. Still, Tennessee turned a 21-14 halftime deficit into a 24-21 lead and was set to win the game before tight end Luke Stocker of Berea fumbled after a reception when he was hit by Ashton Cobb.
That gave UK the ball at the Tennessee 37-yard line with 2:21 left. Cobb ran for 13, 9, 2 and 3 yards out of the Wildcat formation to put the ball at the 10-yard line with 1:16 left. A touchdown would have given UK a second-place finish in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division for the first time with a 4-4 record and likely a berth in the Outback Bowl Jan. 1.
However, UK went back to its traditional offense with Newton at quarterback because coach Rich Brooks says the Cats can’t manage “a two-minute offense” out of the Wildcat. Derrick Locke gained two yards and then Newton rolled right on the crucial third-and-five play. Locke tried to sustain his block, but couldn’t and Newton gained only two yards.
“I thought the play was wide open,” Joker Phillips, UK’s head coach of the offense, said. “I thought we would walk in the way they lined up. We just did not execute the block on the perimeter. If Cobb was running and we don’t sustain it, it might have been different. But that was not the play. We had all the momentum and a chance to win the game and didn’t.”
Rather than gamble on fourth down at the six-yard line, Brooks sent Lones Seiber on to kick the field goal to tie the game.
Brooks admitted he would have liked to have gone for the win, but not from six yards out.
“If it would have been less than a yard (for the first down) maybe, but not three yards. We made it pretty difficult,” Brooks said.
They made it even worse by botching their overtime possession. Moncell Allen couldn’t hold on to Newton’s swing pass, Locke was stopped for a 6-yard loss and Newton’s third-down pass to Chris Matthews in coverage was incomplete.
Good-bye victory. Good-bye Outback Bowl.
Kentucky was probably lucky to be close and should remember that when it finds out what bowl game it will be in. Tennessee had 17 plays of 10 or more yards. The Cats lost two fumbles — one each by Cobb and Newton. The Cats were penalized six times for 64 yards and lost valuable field position.
Kentucky got one score when linebacker Sam Maxwell returned an interception 56 yards for a score, but had only 261 yards of total offense, including just 74 yards in the second half.
“We knew Tennessee’s defense was good and would give us a variety of looks. Morgan did not throw as well as he has in past games. He overthrew some guys that were open,” Brooks said. “We had some breakdowns in pass protection. It makes it very difficult when you can’t throw it efficiently.
“You’ve got to give Tennessee credit. They came out in second half and dominated. They took the fight to us and we did not respond very well. They made plays and we didn’t.”
And that’s why as they always do when they play, Tennessee won and Kentucky didn’t.

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