While the defense looked very, very good last night, there is one concern I have. Frankly, I think we looked a little slow on the edges as we pursued State's running backs, especially in the first half (although, granted, at one point the defense was spending way too much time on the field due to all the turnovers). Teams are aware that running up the middle against our massive defensive front won't work, so I expect that they, as State did a little bit last night, will try to hit the corners to take advantage of the fact that our linebackers are big and a tad on the slow side.
This could be a major problem against some teams. It wasn't a huge problem against State, as we were able to play to the run given State's almost non-existent passing game. However, a team with a quick back and a more balanced attack (i. e., Georgia if their receivers step up) could do some damage to us.
Hopefully, Ellis Johnson and Co. see this and will plan accordingly. I think that there are ways we can play around this problem, such as using our safeties more to back up our linebackers in run support. This is part of the idea behind the 4-2-5 package, to have a large, speedy defensive backfield that can contain teams that like to spread the field and run to the outside (as Florida does with Percy Harvin). We just need to be ready, because teams will try to take advantage of this. First up: Expect Chris Nickson of Vanderbilt to try to gauge us on the outside.