Randall Cobb can reverse a message nearly as fast as he can reverse directions on the football field, but even Cobb can’t fake how important the Tennessee game is this year.”It’s just another game,” said Cobb, a Tennessee native, who, just a week ago, expressed his desire to play UT right after the Vanderbilt win. “I’ve got nothing to say this week. I’m going to talk with my pads.”A valiant effort by Cobb to stick to the team message no doubt, but there was no denying what the slight smile Cobb let out shortly after meant. Like it has been for the better part of two decades, the infamous losing streak to Tennessee is once again on the line this week. But when all things are considered – Tennessee playing for bowl eligibility, the Cats’ chance at a bigger bowl game and this being one of the final notorious losing streaks for UK left to conquer – this year’s annual regular-season finale has an even larger feel to it.Phillips, no stranger to the rivalry as a member of the 1984 UK team, the last squad to beat Tennessee, didn’t devalue the significance of this week’s game at his weekly news conference Monday  – Saturday’s showdown at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., is big. “You can’t say it’s just another game for either party,” Phillips said. “You can’t go down there and find any person that will say it’s just another game. It’s a big game for both parties involved.  We’ve got a chance to be 7-5. They’ve got a chance to be bowl eligible. So it’s a big game.”  Phillips did try to take a page out of Cobb’s book by downplaying how often they’ll use  the 25-game losing streak to Tennessee, but there are references to Tennessee and The Streak scattered throughout Kentucky’s practice complex.Taped on the door of the Wildcat Den at Commonwealth Stadium was a sticker that read “Beat Tennessee.” Senior offensive tackle Brad Durham said there are reminders in the hallways of the Nutter Training Facility and locker room reminding them of the streak. Durham even wore a shirt with the numbers “517” on it. Though nobody let the proverbial cat out of the bag and revealed the number’s meaning, it obviously references some sort of Tennessee tie (any guesses, readers?). “It’s undeniable that there has been a (losing) streak,” junior cornerback Anthony Mosley said. “We don’t really bring it up a tremendous amount, but it’s undeniable that there has been a streak and it will be in the back of our minds when we play.”Kentucky has ended a lot of hexes over the last few years, most notably this year’s victory over South Carolina and Steve Spurrier and last year’s road-defining wins at Georgia and at Auburn. But if there is one thing that still defines the separation that exists between Kentucky and the next step in the Southeastern Conference, it’s the losing streak to Tennessee.”It’s just like South Carolina,” Mosley said. “It proves that when it comes to rivals, we can beat them; when it comes to top-10 teams, we can beat them. If we can do that this Saturday, it would just prove that we can beat anybody. It’s something that we have to do.”To be taken seriously in the SEC, to make that leap up the league ladder, the players feel it’s imperative they put the losing streak to Tennessee behind them. “Everybody is tired of hearing about 25 years,” Durham said.Meanwhile, the Volunteers don’t want to earn the dubious distinction of being the team that finally lost to Kentucky.The end of The Streak seemed like it was coming to fruition a month ago as the Vols struggled under first-year coach Derrick Dooley, but Tennessee has since rallied behind freshman quarterback Tyler Bray and won three straight games. The winning streak has the Vols a win away from bowl eligibility with one game remaining.”In the last three games, offensively, they have gone with the freshmen, Bray, and their numbers are unbelievable offensively,” Phillips said. “They’re playing really well; one of the hardest teams in the SEC right now.”A win over Tennessee would befit a game that carries so much magnitude. A Tennessee program that has long dominated an inferior Kentucky program is now on the brink of a rare mediocre stretch. A loss would mean the Vols would miss postseason play for only the fourth time in 30 seasons.On the other hand, a UK win could still open the door for the significant next step the players and coaches have talked about all season long. Although hopes of a bigger, better bowl game appeared to be dashed with a loss to Mississippi State nearly a month ago, a victory would insert Kentucky into the Gator Bowl discussion.Regaining some postseason possibilities – not denying Tennessee’s – is the most important stake for UK, Phillips said.”Our goal is to be 7-5 at this point,” Phillips said. “The sweetness of (denying Tennessee a bowl game) has nothing to do with it. It will be sweet for us to be 7-5.”And sweet for Cobb, who will be playing his final game near his hometown of Alcoa, Tenn. Not that Cobb is willing to talk about it.”The only thing we need to worry about is preparing to execute,” Cobb said. “If we do those two things, the rest will take care of itself.”Crawford suspended for season; Neloms out a half: Phillips handed out a season-ending suspension to senior defensive tackle Mark Crawford at Monday’s news conference while announcing the SEC’s decision to suspend cornerback Martivus Neloms for the first half of the Tennessee game.Crawford, who was suspended a game earlier in the season for a violation of team rules, has been suspended for the UT game and bowl game for another violation of team rules.Neloms was suspended by the SEC office for throwing a punch in the Vanderbilt game.