Mississippi State’s offense has struggled to get going early in games, even against inferior opponents like UMass.

The Bulldogs trailed the Minutemen 10-0 after the first quarter, but eventually found the right buttons to win 45-20.

No. 7 Tennessee did not have this problem. The Volunteers scored 78 points in the first quarter this season. A big reason for that is the play calling of coach Josh Heupel, but another big reason is the skill players Tennessee has on offense.

Here are three of those players:

The only reason Michael Van Buren isn’t considered the best freshman quarterback in the SEC this season is because Iamaleava is playing. The Volunteers’ freshman signal-caller threw for 1,705 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has a completion percentage of 65.4 and is averaging 8.2 yards per completion.

The beneficiary of a great offensive line, which we’ll get to in a bit, Sampson leads the Tennessee rushing attack with 980 yards this season and 19 touchdowns, tied for second in the nation. He is also consistent. Sampson hasn’t gained fewer than 100 yards since the calendar turned to October, which includes 138 yards in a 19-14 loss to Arkansas.

As mentioned, Tennessee has one of the best offensive lines in the nation, and Cooper Mays may be the best of the starting five. Mays was a preseason first-team All-American by multiple outlets and has the offense giving up 18 sacks this season (2.25 per game).

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Early weather report: Mississippi State at no. 7 Tennessee