I’m glad Tyler raised this issue:

Edge contain. Yes, Ole Miss only gained 34 yards rushing (the running backs had more like 60 on 16 attempts), but the edge players were bailed out time and again by Williams and Rambo. Washington and Vasser had a couple of nice stops, but both sucked inside too often.

As Georgia tries to go above .500 in conference for the first time in nearly two years, I had a similar thought. If Georgia showed a weakness on defense at Ole Miss, it was on the edge. The Rebels didn’t have the players or scheme to exploit it, but the next opponent does. I’m confident in the interior line to slow the dive plays and even the inside zone-reads of the MSU spread option. It’s when the outside defenders bite on the dive and the option develops outside that I get a little more concerned.

You can see a bit of what I’m talking about on MSU’s first score against Georgia last year. (Sorry for the video quality – it’s the only clip of the play I could find.) The inside fake draws in the defense. Though the quarterback is covered, the pitch isn’t, and it’s an easy score.

Georgia’s pursuit on defense can be a blessing, and it’s a big reason why Ole Miss could do so little on Saturday. They got after everyone. It’s a fine line between GATA and overpursuit as we saw on the punt return reverse. Georgia will at least study and practice against the MSU offense this week, so the need to stay at home and pay attention will be driven home a lot more than they would against a random trick play.

At the same time, Georgia’s defense – even with Robinson back – will have a lot of young guys who are seeing these option plays for the first time, and they’ll have to make good decisions all afternoon. Cheating inside leaves you vulnerable on the edge, and watching the edge leaves the middle open for tough runners in Relf and Ballard. Georgia’s objective will be to limit gains on early downs and force MSU into longer second and third downs where the Mississippi State passing game becomes much more predictable and inefficient.