Despite a seven-win season in Josh Heupel's debut, a win total that surpassed most outsider expectations, Tennessee is not ranked in ESPN's early Top 25 for the 2022 season.

Seven SEC teams are ranked by ESPN: No. 1 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 20 Arkansas, No. 21 Kentucky, No. 23 Ole Miss and No. 25 South Carolina.

On this edition of "The Volunteer State," Blake Toppmeyer of the USA TODAY Network and the News Sentinel's John Adams and Adam Sparks debate whether the Vols being left out of the early rankings is an egregious oversight or understandable.

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) Adam (@AdamSparks) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on Vols sports news by following @GoVolsXtra.

Connect on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GoVolsXtra/

Subscribe to KnoxNews: knoxnews.com/subscribe