Kentucky snaps 26-game losing streak to Tennessee

Matt Roark's knowledge of the playbook as quarterback came down to a single sheet of paper. The 51 plays the wide receiver said he learned this week were good enough to snap a streak dating back 26 years.

Roark filled in at quarterback with 124 yards on 24 carries as Kentucky snapped the longest active losing streak by one conference opponent against another with a 10-7 victory over Tennessee on Saturday.

"I never expected to do anything like that," Roark said. "Not the beat Tennessee part, but me playing quarterback."

CoShik Williams ran for a touchdown to cap a disappointing season for the Wildcats (5-7, 2-6 Southeastern Conference). But the victory kept Tennessee (5-7, 1-7) from reaching bowl eligibility with representatives from the Liberty Bowl on hand.

Kentucky's game plan was clear from the start — win for the first time in the series since 1984.

"What an amazing, amazing game," Kentucky coach Joker Phillips said. "How many, if we lined up the last 26 years, how many quarterbacks have we had? Probably 15? Who would pick out Matt Roark as the guy who broke the streak."

The Wildcats weren't going to be able to throw much with Roark, but instead tried to run misdirection plays and catch Tennessee off-guard while relying on their improving defense.

It worked.

Roark led two scoring drives and Kentucky forced three turnovers, including a key one in a goal-line stand in the third quarter.

"You don't always get what you want," Tennessee coach Derek Dooley said. "But, sometimes you get what you deserve."

Roark had talked earlier in the week about needing to find a job after he graduated in May.

But he knew he'd be quarterback early in the week and left a strong impression in his final appearance at Commonwealth Stadium with injured quarterbacks Maxwell Smith (right shoulder) and Morgan Newton (right ankle, right shoulder) watching from the sideline.

Kentucky wore its black jerseys for the second time this season at the request of its 21 seniors and, on the first possession, Roark led Kentucky on a 15-play drive that lasted nearly eight minutes before it stalled at the Tennessee 7 and forced Craig McIntosh's 24-yard field goal. That would stay the only score until the fourth quarter, when Williams scored from the 6 to give Kentucky a 10-0 lead.

Tennessee had plenty of chances late, but committed three turnovers in the second half.

First, Ronnie Sneed intercepted Tyler Bray's pass at the Tennessee 34. But, with Kentucky seemingly stalled, it appeared to be only a matter of time before Tennessee's offense engaged. It happened when Bray found Rajion Neal behind cornerback Randall Burden for a 44-yard gain that set up first-and-goal on the 8.

But Neal failed to handle the snap out of a wildcat formation two plays later, and Collins Ukwu recovered the fumble for Kentucky before Roark restarted the offense.

First, he got linebacker A.J. Johnson to turn his back for a 24-yard gain into Tennessee territory. Roark made another key play a few minutes later, splitting the defense and breaking two tackles on a third-and-12 to gain 26 yards down to the Tennessee 7. Williams, who finished with 68 yards, scored two plays later on a 6-yard run that made it 10-0 with 14:12 left.

Tennessee struck right back when Bray found Neal on the post again against Burden for a 53-yard score that cut it to 10-7 with 12:52 left. Tennessee had three chances late, but Bray failed to move the offense beyond one first down and on fourth-and-17. Taiedo Smith intercepted Bray's pass to seal it.

"Well, real bad ending to a real bad season," Dooley said. "It's hard to say much more than that. Our biggest fears were realized."

Roark finished 4 of 6 for 15 yards passing.

Volunteers wide receiver Da'Rick Rogers caught two passes for 38 yards to boost his SEC-leading totals to 67 receptions for 1,040 yards, but Bray looked rusty in his second game back after missing five with a broken right thumb. He finished 15 of 38 for 215 yards.

The Vols last lost on the road to Kentucky in 1981 and, coupled with their 6-7 finish last year, have ended seasons with consecutive losing records for the first time since 1910-11.

They'll have a long offseason to think about this one by failing to topple a Wildcats team that had been in turmoil all week with rumors that Phillips might not return for a third season.

Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart said in a letter released to fans just after the game that he still has confidence in Phillips.

"Joker Phillips continues to be the right fit to lead our football program," Barnhart wrote. "Although this season certainly fell short of our expectations, today we celebrate a victory that has eluded this program for 26 seasons."

Phillips is 11-14 and 4-12 in SEC play over his first two seasons while the program won't go to a bowl for the first time in five years. Instead, the coach got a victory bath from a sideline water cooler all the same and fans rushed the field, carrying off Roark on their shoulders in the process.

"That was crazy, man," Roark said. "That was the only way I was going to get out of there, really."

This story was originally published November 26, 2011 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Kentucky snaps 26-game losing streak to Tennessee."