Josh Heupel's postgame reaction with his players to Tennessee Vols' win over Florida Gators spoke volumes

It was ugly.  It was scrappy.  It was filled with more mistakes and regrets than a confession booth on Sunday morning.

But, at the end of the day, it was a win for the Tennessee Volunteers over the Florida Gators.  Those things simply don't grow on trees for the former.

Forget the 14.5-point line.  Whoever set in Vegas was an absolute fool.  Tennessee doesn't blow out Florida.  Hasn't happened in over 30 years.  Instead, what's happened is Tennessee has found a way time and again to snatch defeat at the pivotal moment from the jaws of victory time and again since the early 1990s.

The series is replete with examples.  Failing to convert a 3rd and 1 in 2000 that would have iced the game, instead losing on a dropped pass called a touchdown in the final seconds. Blowing second half leads at home in 2006 and 2012.  Blowing a 9-0 4th quarter lead in 2014.  4th and 14 allowed in 2015.  Allowing a Hail Mary in 2017.  Having a lifeless performance against a brutally bad Florida team last year in a 29-16 loss.

So, forgive the players for letting loose a little bit in the locker room after the win on Saturday night. Tennessee football released a video after the game, and it showed Josh Heupel and his players dancing and cutting loose after the win.

Vegas said the Vols were supposed to win big.  That this wasn't supposed to be a contest.  But college football is a weird animal where rivalries typically neutralize those perceived advantages, and the teams duke it out for four quarters on the field.

And there hasn't been a season with this much parity in college football in a VERY long time. Perhaps back to the 2007 season, when there was pure chaos atop the rankings for much of the year.  That parity is definitely on display this season, with no one looking unbeatable, and everyone putting out less than stellar performances.

And that includes Tennessee, clearly.  They certainly have plenty of work to do to clean up whatever that mess of a first half was on the offensive side of the ball, where they turned the ball over twice and punted three times.  Heupel and his staff certainly know that, and they'll work this week to improve.

But Heupel also just became the first Tennessee coach since Phillip Fulmer to defeat Florida more than once.  And his team became the first since the early 1990s to defeat Florida in back-to-back games in Knoxville.

This game matters.  It's still Florida vs. Tennessee.  And the Vols celebrated on the field after a four-quarter battle (and then some) victoriously.

That's plenty of reason for Heupel and the players to take minute to cut loose.  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Related: Nico Iamaleava has amusing response to question about Tennessee's biggest gamble in win over Florida Gators