Sitting on an equipment crate near the 50-yard line late in the third quarter of Saturday's game, Erik Ainge picked up the phone.

From his perch in the press box, Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe delivered a simple message to his senior quarterback on senior day.

"I said, 'We're going to win this football game. You just take a deep breath and play like you're capable of playing,'" Cutcliffe said.

When Cutcliffe picked up the phone, the Vols had scored just nine points and Ainge's final game in Neyland Stadium had provided little in the way of highlights.

But with 15 minutes left to play, Ainge rose to the occasion by guiding the 19th-ranked Vols to 16 unanswered points and a 25-24 come-from-behind victory over Vanderbilt.

Entering Saturday's game, Ainge had thrown for just 253 yards and completed 28 of 48 passes in UT's last two games combined.

In the first quarter, Ainge completed 11 of 15 passes for 89 yards.

But Vanderbilt's zone-blitz defense, which ranked third in the SEC in total defense entering the game, kept Ainge and the Vols' offense off balance for much of the second and third quarters.

"I can bounce back," Ainge said afterward. "I wasn't worried. I think other people get more worried that I'm going to let how I play early affect me, how I play later."

And Vanderbilt couldn't keep the senior from writing a near-perfect final chapter in his final home game.

The Vols trailed 24-9, thanks in part to a botched pass - ruled a lateral by officials - that set up a Vanderbilt field goal just before halftime.

After Cutcliffe's phone call, the Vols went three-and-out, only to be saved by a roughing-the-kicker penalty that gave the them a first down and new life.

"We sprinted on the field after that," said right tackle Ramon Foster, who played the entire game with a broken thumb on his right hand. "We just took advantage of it."

Or simply turned on the lights, as wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor put it.

"It was amazing to see those guys turn that switch back on," Taylor said.

Ainge was the one who flipped it.

After Arian Foster rushed for 11 yards on the first two plays, Ainge hit Foster for a 19-yard gain to the Vanderbilt 7-yard line.

On the next play, he found receiver Josh Briscoe for a touchdown that gave Tennessee's championship hopes a pulse again.

"We didn't have to do anything crazy," Ainge said. "We just had to make the plays we're supposed to make."

After one last three-and-out, Ainge became the accurate passer fans and teammates are used to seeing.

The Oregon native connected on eight of nine passes on a 10-play, 83-yard drive that brought the Vols within two points at 24-22 with 7:14 remaining.

"One thing about Erik is he's going to step up when he needs to," says Briscoe. "He does a great job of handling our two-minute and our no-huddle offense. He made great passes to our receivers. We just took it to the end zone."

The Vols didn't find the end zone on their final possession, but they did find a way to win.

Foster, who moved into 10th place on UT's all-time rushing list with his 106 yards rushing against Vandy, helped move the Vols into field goal range with runs of 9, 7 and 3 yards.

On third-down, Ainge hit Austin Rogers for 4 yards to set up Lincoln's game-winning field goal.

All told, Ainge finished 29-of-43 for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

But what mattered most to Cutcliffe was the senior's line from the fourth quarter.

With the Vols' backs to the wall, Ainge was 12-of-15 for 107 yards and two touchdowns.

And for all the steps Cutcliffe has seen Ainge take in their two years together, he saw one more Saturday afternoon.

"I told him afterwards, that's the next step," Cutcliffe said. "If he's going to have aspirations of playing in the NFL, play championship-type football, you've got to be good when the situation's at its worst,

"(After the game) I said, 'You were good when our situation was at its worst.'"

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.