The Tennessee Vols lost to the Florida Gators by 24 points on Saturday night in Gainesville.

While the final score wasn't pretty, I actually feel better about Tennessee after the 38-14 loss to the Gators.

In the first half, the Vols were right there with Florida. Josh Heupel schemed guys open and the Vols connected on some big plays (Hendon Hooker to Javonta Payton for a 75-yard score was the highlight of the game for UT).

Tennessee showed fight against Florida. The vibe of the team felt much different than it did during the previous three seasons under Jeremy Pruitt.

The Vols have a long way to go under Heupel, but I feel like a six or seven win season is even more likely because of what I saw from Tennessee on Saturday night.

Heupel's scheme works. There were guys open all night long. And the run game was much improved (Tennessee rushed for 148 yards against Florida).

There are just two things holding the Vols back right now.

Tennesee's two biggest issues right now

The first issue is simple — the Vols just don't have the depth to keep up with Florida.

Tennessee plays fast under Heupel. They need depth to keep up that same pace for 60 minutes (on both sides of the ball). The Vols are going to have trouble against high-level teams until they can develop quality depth.

There's also a talent gap between Tennessee and Florida. But I truly believe that Heupel's scheme could've overcome the talent gap on Saturday night if the team would've had better depth.

The other major issue facing the Vols right now is wide receiver drops.

Tennessee had way too many inexcusable drops against Florida.

A Jimmy Calloway drop on an attempted fourth-down conversion in the second half was a major turning point in the game. At the time, the Vols were trailing the Gators by 10. Calloway probably would've scored on the play. Instead, Calloway dropped the pass and the ball was turned over on downs. Florida then went down the field and scored to make it a 17 point game late in the third quarter.

Drops are going to happen from time to time. But they're happening at an alarming rate for the Volunteers. That has to get cleaned up before Tennessee can take the next step under Heupel.

The good news is that the issues plaguing the Vols are fixable. It won't happen overnight, but this program is clearly moving in the right direction.

Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services