Tennessee's football season ended about a month earlier than what it had hoped, but at least it ended the way the Volunteers wanted—with a win. 

With very little to play for, at least UT can take solace that a victory helps Butch Jones sell the direction of the program to recruits moving forward.

A week after Vanderbilt was the beneficiary of an overturned spot and used it to stun the Vols and knock them out of a bowl game, UT kept playing hard. And for the first time since October's stunning upset of South Carolina, the Vols played well, too, beating Kentucky 27-14.