KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — 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 last night to extend the nation's longest active winning streak by one team over another to 24 games.

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.

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."

Fulmer leaves as the second winningest coach in Tennessee history behind Gen. Robert R. Neyland. The outgoing dean of the SEC coaches holds a 151-52 overall record, winning 74 percent of his games.

Former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin will apparently be the next Vols coach, though Tennessee officials refused to confirm or deny reports out of respect for Fulmer. A formal announcement is expected early in the week.

ACC

Virginia Tech 17, Virginia 14: Dustin Keys kicked a 28-yard field goal with 6:37 to play and the host Hokies (8-4, 5-3) earned the opportunity to defend their Atlantic Coast Conference championship with a victory over the Cavaliers (5-7, 3-5) at Blacksburg, Va.

Wake Forest 23, Vanderbilt 10: Alphonso Smith's conference record-tying 20th career interception set up Rich Belton's 4-yard touchdown run to lead the Demon Deacons (7-5) past the Commodores (6-6) at Winston-Salem, N.C.

N.C. State 38, Miami 28: Russell Wilson threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Andre Brown also rushed for two TDs to help the Wolfpack (6-6, 4-4) beat the Hurricanes (7-5, 4-4) at Raleigh, N.C. and become eligible for a bowl game.

North Carolina 28, Duke 20: T.J. Yates threw three touchdown passes, and Trimane Goddard intercepted a pass in the closing seconds to seal the visiting Tar Heels' (8-4, 4-4) win over the Blue Devils (4-8, 1-7) at Durham, N.C.

Clemson 31, South Carolina 14: James Davis ran for three touchdowns (raising his career total to 49) and the Tigers (7-5) rattled Gamecocks' (7-5) quarterback Chris Smelley into four interceptions at Clemson, S.C., winning for the sixth time in seven games against their state rival.

CONFERENCE USA

Tulsa 38, Marshall 35: Jarod Tracy kicked a 22-yard field goal with 3:42 to play as the Golden Hurricane (10-2, 7-1 Conference USA) beat the Thundering Herd (4-8, 3-5) at Huntington, W.Va., to clinch the Conference USA's West division and right to host East Carolina for the league title.

Rice 56, Houston 42: Chase Clement threw for 381 yards and five touchdowns as the Owls (9-3, 7-1) beat the Cougars (7-5, 6-2) in Houston, putting Tulsa, which beat Rice, into the Conference USA championship game.

Memphis 45, Tulane 6: Receiver Steven Black took six direct snaps out of the "wild" formation and ran for three touchdowns as the Tigers (6-6, 4-4) became bowl eligible by beating the Green Wave (2-10, 1-7) at Memphis, Tenn.

Alabama-Birmingham 15, Central Florida 0: Swayze Waters kicked five field goals and the Blazers (4-8, 3-5) recorded their first league shutout in 10 seasons after beating the Knights (4-8, 3-5) at Orlando, Fla.

Southern Miss 28, SMU 12: Austin Davis threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns helping the Golden Eagles (6-4, 4-4) become bowl eligible in Dallas, while the Mustangs (1-11, 0-8) finished the same as last season when they fired Phil Bennett and lured June Jones from Hawai'i with a salary worth about $2 million a year.

One bright spot for SMU was Jesse Henderson, who set an NCAA record with 2,945 career kickoff return yards. The previous record was 2,922, set by Tulane's Jeff Liggon from 1993-96.

NCAA FCS PLAYOFFS

Appalachian State 37, S. Carolina State 21: Armanti Edwards passed for a school-record 433 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another to lead the Mountaineers (11-2) beat the Bulldogs (10-3) at Boone, N.C., in the first round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

Richmond 38, Eastern Kentucky 10: Eric Ward threw for 245 yards and Tre Gray had a pair of touchdown receptions as the Spiders (10-3) defeated the Colonels (8-4) at Richmond, Va., to reach the quarterfinals against Appalachian State.

Villanova 55, Colgate 28: Matt Szczur returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a score and added two more TDs, and the Wildcats (10-2) scored 28 unanswered points for a 41-7 halftime lead in coasting past the Raiders (9-3) at Villanova, Pa., earning a game against James Madison.

James Madison 38, Wofford 35: Rodney Landers passed for three touchdowns and rushed for 166 yards and another score to lead the host Dukes (11-1) past the Terriers (9-3) at Harrisonburg, Va.

New Hampshire 29, Southern Illinois 20: Tom Bishop kicked five field goals and John Clements returned a blocked punt 26 yards for a 26-13 lead heading into the final quarter as the Wildcats (10-2) held off the Salukis (9-3) at Carbondale, Ill.

Northern Iowa 40, Maine 15: Pat Grace threw touchdown passes of 42 and 55 yards to Jarred Herring in the first half as the Panthers (11-2) routed the Black Bears (8-5) at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and will host New Hampshire in a quarterfinal game.

Montana 31, Texas State 13: Chase Reynolds ran for 233 yards and two second-half touchdowns, as the Grizzlies (12-1) scored on four straight possessions bridging halftime to beat the Bobcats (8-5) at Missoula, Mont., and will host Weber State next week.

WEBER STATE 49, CAL POLY 35: Sophomore quarterback Cameron Higgins, a Saint Louis alum from Hawai'i, passed for 399 yards and two touchdowns, and Justin White's 21-yard TD run with 2:15 to play sealed the Wildcats' (10-2) victory over the Mustangs (8-3) at San Luis Obispo, Calif.