I hate moral victories. Moral victories are losses. Plain and simple.

So, let’s not call it a moral victory if Josh Heupel and Tennessee football find a way to play a close game with Florida on Saturday but still lose. Let’s just say that we’re being realistic about the circumstances that the Vols find themselves in, and then admit that hanging with UF would genuinely be progress for the Big Orange.

A win over the Gators on Saturday would obviously be nothing short of program-changing. It would be the biggest win for UT since the last time they beat Florida in 2016. And honestly, that’s probably severely underselling how huge a victory in the Swamp would really be.

Since the Vols’ 2016 win, Tennessee has been outscored by Florida 138 to 63. Losing by a bunch to UF is par for the course right now. Add to that the fact that during the 2021 offseason, a sea of players left the Big Orange program and Heupel is essentially starting things over from scratch with tons of new players and even a new athletics director. It’s a dire situation and it’s okay to admit that.

If anyone reading this has followed my work at length, they’ll know that I’m the “fire everybody” guy. I often hold coaches to standards that are higher than they probably should be. My leash for coaching nonsense is incredibly short and yet, I think giving grace to Heupel is more than appropriate in the current situation.

So with that said, simply giving the Gators a tough game this weekend would be a good thing for Tennessee. If they can keep the score to within a touchdown or even give themselves a legitimate chance to win in the fourth quarter, that would truly be big for Heupel and his staff because it has a number of encouraging implications.

If the Vols can stand tall against Florida, it likely means they are close to being the third-best team in the SEC East. Which would mean they will likely go at least 6-6 and earn a bowl game bid, which would be massive in itself for Heupel and his future in Knoxville. Also, it means that potentially UT could give a game to Georgia and Ole Miss and possibly steal a win that it shouldn’t. And more than anything, it means the rebuild may not be as horrifically gargantuan as we thought.

Beating Florida in Gainesville will be an extremely tall task for the Vols and a loss will be a loss. But, not rolling over when things go south and giving UF a close game can still serve as a building block for long-term goals.

Featured images via Brianna Paciorka / Knoxville News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services