Erik Ainge ensured No. 16 Tennessee wouldn’t leave the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., with another disappointing loss.
Capping a roller coaster career, the Volunteers star threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns Tuesday to pace a 21-17 victory that stopped No. 18 Wisconsin from joining Michigan as the only Big Ten teams to beat Southeastern Conference opponents in bowl games three consecutive seasons.
A month after having an interception returned for the winning score in a 21-14 loss to LSU in the SEC championship game, Ainge completed 25 of 43 passes without a turnover to win MVP honors and help the Vols (10-4) erase unpleasant memories of a
10-point loss to Penn State in last year’s Outback game.
Antonio Wardlow sealed Tennessee’s first 10-win season since 2004 when he intercepted Tyler Donovan’s deep throw intended for Paul Hubbard in the end zone in the final minute. The Vols also thwarted another fourth-quarter drive by stopping Wisconsin on downs at the Tennessee 10.
Receiver Gerald Jones took a direct snap from center and scored on a 3-yard run, then Ainge tossed TD passes of 29 yards to Josh Briscoe and 31 yards to Brad Cottam to help Tennessee build a 21-7 lead.
Donovan’s 4-yard TD throw to Andy Crooks trimmed Wisconsin’s deficit to 21-14 at the half. The Badgers then pulled within four points on Taylor Mehlhaff’s 27-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
The Wisconsin quarterback shrugged off several big hits, including helmet-to-helmet contact when he dove into the end zone on a 6-yard first-quarter run, to help Wisconsin (9-4) stay close by completing 14 of 24 passes for 155 yards.
P.J. Hill returned to Wisconsin’s offense after sitting out two games and missing part of two others, running for 132 yards on 16 carries. His 50-yard run was the big play in the drive that stalled at the Tennessee 10 with six minutes left.
Donovan launched Wisconsin’s last drive from his own 12 with 1:26 to go. The Badgers marched to the Tennessee 36 before the senior overthrew Hubbard, who was racing up the left side of the field.
Tennessee played without six players who were declared academically ineligible, including defensive tackle Demonte Bolden, linebacker Rico McCoy and leading receiver Lucas Taylor, who had 73 receptions for 1,000 yards and five TDs this season.
Briscoe took up the slack in the absence of Taylor, finishing with seven catches for 101 yards.
Both teams rebounded from tough stretches that ruined any hopes they had of contending for the national title to finish the regular season with nine victories.
Tennessee lost two of its first three games before winning eight of nine to earn a berth in the SEC championship game, where the Vols lost to LSU.
Wisconsin started 5-0 before losses at Illinois and Penn State dropped the Badgers out of the Top 25.
A lopsided loss at Ohio State eliminated any chance of winding up in the Rose Bowl, but the team regrouped to beat Michigan and Minnesota to head to Tampa for its fourth consecutive appearance in a January bowl.
The Badgers beat Auburn and Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl the previous two years and would have become just the second Big Ten program to beat SEC opponents in three straight bowl games.

Cotton Bowl

No. 7 Missouri 38, No. 25 Arkansas 7
Missouri made its case for having deserved a chance in one of the elite bowl games, routing Darren McFadden and Arkansas in Dallas to cap a magical season.
The biggest surprise is that the damage was done by running back Tony Temple, not quarterback Chase Daniel, a Heisman Trophy finalist like McFadden.
Temple, a 5-foot-9 senior who is often overlooked in Missouri’s pass-heavy offense, broke long-standing Cotton Bowl records with 281 yards and four touchdowns. Both records fell on his last run, a spinning, tackle-breaking, 40-yarder into the end zone.
Mizzou (12-2) was ranked No. 1 after beating Kansas in the regular-season finale, then lost badly to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game.
The Razorbacks (8-5) made a horrible impression on incoming coach Bobby Petrino, from the defense allowing the most yards rushing by a single player to the sloppiness of five turnovers.

Gator Bowl

Texas Tech 31, No. 21 Virginia 28
Alex Trlica kicked a 41-yard field goal with 7 seconds left to give Texas Tech a come-from-behind victory over the Cavaliers in a wild game in Jacksonville, Fla.
Tech overcame pivotal penalties and a fumble to come back from a 28-14 fourth quarter deficit. Its aggressive pass offense couldn’t score much for three quarters, but Graham Harrell still managed to completed 44 of 69 passes for 407 yards, all records, plus
three TDs.
The comeback started when Harrell found Michael Crabtree for a touchdown — despite an interference call.
Tech scored its next touchdown after knocking the ball out of backup Virginia quarterback Peter Lalich’s hands at the 4 yard line. Tech recovered and Aaron Crawford’s 4-yard run a play later tied it at 28.
The Red Raiders overcame a tremendous effort by Virginia tailback Mikell Simpson, who ran for 170 yards on 20 carries — including a NCAA bowl-record 96-yard TD run — and caught another touchdown.
Virginia’s offense wasn’t the same after losing Jameel Sewell at the start of the fourth quarter. His statistics weren’t outstanding — 14-of-23 passing for 78 yards and a TD — but he commanded the offense well.

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