CHARLOTTE -- It was like a cliffhanger ending to a movie that nobody saw coming.
Lynn Bowden Jr.'s "Sixth Sense," if you will.
On the final play of his stellar football career with Kentucky, Bowden did what he had yet to do since stepping into the Wildcats' quarterback role out of necessity midway through the season.
He won a game with his arm.
Bowden threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Josh Ali with 15 seconds remaining in Tuesday's Belk Bowl to give Kentucky a one-point lead over Virginia Tech. The Wildcats' defense added a scoop-and-score fumble return for a touchdown on the Hokies' final desperation play to cap a thrilling 37-30 win at Bank of America Stadium.
"Y'all said I couldn't throw," Bowden said with a wink and a smile. He later added that he lobbied the UK staff to throw the ball in that situation, and he even checked out to a route he preferred against the defensive alignment that the Hokies showed.
"We had one timeout, so one thing about throwing it, it gives Lynn the opportunity to scramble. With no timeouts left, that would be tough," UK head coach Mark Stoops said. "... So I wanted to throw it right there. I had all the faith in the world he was going to complete a touchdown pass."
Kentucky (8-5) had completed only three passes in its previous two games combined.
It marked a day in which Bowden had already set a new NCAA bowl game record for rushing yards by a quarterback (233) and scored two other touchdowns from 25 and 61 yards out to dazzle Big Blue Nation one last time before entering his name in the NFL Draft in the spring.
"That was one of the most impressive displays I've seen in a long time," Stoops said. "What he did and the way he puts this team on his back and plays for them, it's amazing."
"It's what he's done to everybody," Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente said of Bowden, who finished the season with 1,468 rushing yards despite playing wide receiver the first five games. "I mean, he's a great player. He's competitive, he's tough, strong, never looks like he's in a hurry out there. He's patient, explosive. I mean, he's a physical player. He's a competitor."
There may never be another quite like Bowden.
"I don't know if you can replace a guy like this. You really can't," Stoops said. "... But the legacy that he leaves and the example that he set for all these young guys, you know, that's what we need to hang onto. I'm not sure you could get another guy like this."
"He's just hard-nosed," UK senior offensive lineman Logan Stenberg said. "He's like an offensive lineman -- a skinny offensive lineman who wants to stick his face in there and get nasty and physical. That's great to block for."
It took just about every ounce of his ability to get past an inspired Virginia Tech (8-5) squad. The Hokies led 17-7 in the first half and appeared to be poised to break the game open early in the fourth quarter when Brian Johnson connected on his third field goal of the game to put his team up 30-24.
A Bowden interception gave the Hokies the ball at their 39-yard line with 9:48 to go. Another field goal may have broken Kentucky, but the Cats' defense, which had uncharacteristically struggled to that point -- allowing an opponent to score 30 points for the first time this season -- rose up for a 3-and-out series that gave the ball back to Bowden with 8:25 to go.
Eighteen plays later -- a dozen of them runs by the 6-foot-1, 206-pound Bowden -- and the Cats had the lead for the first time since 7-3 in the opening quarter. His touchdown pass lofted over the defense to Ali was only the third for the Cats since losing starter Terry Wilson and backup Sawyer Smith to injuries in the first five weeks of the season.
Kentucky held the ball for more than 11 minutes in the final quarter.
Virginia Tech got it back for three final desperation plays, but the Cats put the proverbial icing on the cake by forcing a fumble as time expired and celebrated wildly in the end zone after linebacker Jordan Wright scooped it up and ran 28 yards for a touchdown.
"Obviously one heck of a football game," Stoops said. "You have to credit Virginia Tech, Coach Fuente, their staff. We knew it was going to be a tough, hard-fought game, and it certainly was. I'm so proud of our coaching staff and our players to once again find a way to win. And that kind of personifies our year, just there's ups, there's downs, there's good and bad, but keep on fighting through it, grinding through it, finding a way."
"It summed up our whole season," said UK senior defensive tackle Calvin Taylor. "... Storybook. That was amazing."
