Tennessee Football: Winners and Losers from the Week 13 Game vs. Kentucky

Randy Sartin-US PRESSWIRE

The season has mercifully come to a close for Tennessee fans and the Volunteers finished it off with a victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.

Of course, Saturday's game is very minuscule in the grand scheme of where Tennessee football currently stands, but the win was a nice ending for those Tennessee fans that suffered through this season.

While rumors continue to swirl about who the next coach will be in Knoxville, let's take a look at the winners and losers for the final time in 2012.

Winner: Jim Chaney

Randy Sartin-US PRESSWIRE

Jim Chaney is now the winningest coach in school history by percentage. Granted, his record is 1-0, but he did match the number of SEC games Derek Dooley won over the last two seasons.

Chaney has stuck with the Vols through the last four years, and his offense was not the problem this season.

There are rumors that he is going to be considered for the Purdue head coaching vacancy, but there's always a chance the new Tennessee coach will keep him on.

Winner: Tennessee Seniors

Randy Sartin-US PRESSWIRE

This class of Tennessee seniors had arguably the worst four years of any class in program history. However, Saturday they went out on a good note. Regardless of who the opponent was, this group needed something positive to go out on.

Both Mychal Rivera and Zach Rogers caught touchdown passes in their final game and Herman Lathers and Prentiss Waggner had nice showings defensively.

Here's wishing the best to a group of seniors that went through quite a bit on the hill.

Loser: Tennessee Fans

Randy Sartin-US PRESSWIRE

Tennessee wins the game and the fans are the losers? Why? Now the season is officially over.

The year has gone so poorly that, for some, this is a good thing. However, it means you now have to wait nine months before the men in orange and white take the field again. The college football season continues for another six weeks, but Tennessee won't be involved.

The only thing left for Tennessee fans to focus on now is a coaching search and a potential rival winning the national championship.

Loser: Tennessee Fans Again

Randy Sartin-US PRESSWIRE

Tennessee had one of the most prolific offenses in the country this season, but it was all for naught because of a horrific defense. Now a good chunk of that offense could be headed to the NFL.

Many college football experts believe that Tyler Bray, Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson will all forgo their senior seasons and enter the NFL draft this spring. That means Tennessee's passing attack will be all gone and the run-and-gun style that scored so many points this season will have to start over.

Tennessee may not have won many games this season, but they were exciting to watch because of the offense. Too bad the fans won't get to see that offense together for another year.

Winner: Jaron Toney and Jordan Williams

Randy Sartin-US PRESSWIRE

Toney and Williams were not counted on to contribute at the start of this season. Toney was a one-time tailback and Williams was down on the depth chart.

Saturday, both were given an opportunity and both shined.

Toney finished with 11 tackles, second most on the team, and a tackle for a loss. Williams recorded five tackles, three for losses, and a sack. Williams was arguably the most disruptive player on the Vol defensive front Saturday.

It will be interesting to see where these two end up on the depth chart as the team starts working toward the spring.