Dan Mullen has led Florida to four wins against the Tennessee Vols since taking over as the head coach of the Gators after the 2017 season.

On Saturday night, Mullen left the Swamp feeling differently about the Vols than he has in previous years.

Mullen, who has never lost to UT, saw a different Tennessee team in this year's matchup.

The longtime SEC head coach saw a team with toughness and intensity. A team that played with physicality. A team that was much different than the Vols team the Gators beat in Knoxville last season.

"That was a different looking team than I saw last year, to be honest with you," said Mullen after the game. "How they played, their intensity, their toughness, their physicalness."

That comment should legitimately excite Tennessee fans.

The Vols lost by 24 points on Saturday night. A loss is a loss.

But the final score doesn't tell the full story. Tennessee played with great effort against Florida. They played like they were there to win — not just wear a Vols jersey and take photos after the game.

A great example of the Vols' effort was when Florida's Jacob Copeland caught a pass near the end of the second quarter that would've resulted in a first down at the UT 15 yard line.

Instead, Vols defensive back Alontae Taylor stayed with the play and ripped the ball away from Copeland, resulting in a fumble that Tennessee recovered.

Heupel has only been the head coach at Tennessee for eight months, but he's already managed to completely change the attitude of this team.

Tennessee doesn't have the talent or depth necessary to compete for the SEC East division crown just yet. But the Vols are well on their way to being a problem for teams like Florida (and it sounds like Mullen realizes that).

The key thing for Heupel right now is to make sure the team stays bought in through the trials and tribulations that will be inevitable as the program goes through this rebuilding phase. If that happens, then Tennessee might have something special with Heupel.

Featured image via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports