Will Muschamp Has Auburn's Defense on Right Path, but There's Work to Be Done

ATLANTA — The Will Muschamp experiment? It's still a work-in-progress, but Auburn's new defensive coordinator certainly had bright spots on Saturday afternoon.

In his first game of his second stint as Auburn's defensive coordinator, "Coach Boom's" defense led the charge over Louisville in a 31-24 win at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome.

No, the final stats don't look all that impressive. The Tigers gave up 405 yards including 238 on the ground to Bobby Petrino's crew, but a strong first half in which they gave up just 74 rushing yards helped Auburn build a lead that was too big too relinquish.

"I thought they did a great job in the first half," head coach Gus Malzahn said. "In the second half they still did some things."

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That defense was helped out by what was Auburn's biggest nemesis a year ago. 

"Buck" Carl Lawson, who missed last year with an ACL tear, had four tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack and defensive tackle Dontavius Russell added six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks; the Cardinals' quarterbacks and running backs were routinely getting harassed in the backfield in the first half.

Lawson missed time in the second half with a hip-flexor injury. That, coupled with backup quarterback Lamar Jackson's ability to make things happen on the ground, allowed the Cardinals to get back into it.

"Carl Lawson is an impact player," Malzahn said. "I think you saw that in the first half. When he doesn't make the play, he helps other people make plays. With him being out, obviously there was a difference.

"That freshman quarterback (Jackson), he's electric now. He's going to be tough to deal with."

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The biggest factor in the game—quite literally—was 6'4", 296-pound defensive tackle Montravius Adams. The junior former 5-star prospect finished the day with seven tackles, 1.5 for loss and a sack, and generally paid a mortgage in the backfield. 

So much so that, on linebacker Justin Garrett's 82-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter, he was in the backfield so fast that he virtually could have taken the handoff from Cardinals' quarterback Reggie Bonnafon.

"That was big," Malzahn said. "We were harassing the quarterback in the first half, and the defense played outstanding. The two turnovers—of course you have the first one on the first play of the game in which [Tray Matthews] took it back and set up the touchdown, and then of course we picked up the fumble for a touchdown. Those were great momentum plays."

As Bleacher Report national college football video analyst Michael Felder noted on Twitter, Adams is lighting-quick off the ball and creates pressure up the middle, which is a nightmare for opposing offenses.

This is a championship-caliber defense.

Not just SEC West- or conference-championship-caliber, national-championship-caliber.

On a day in which Auburn's offense brought its "C-game" (which might be a compliment to the Tigers and quarterback Jeremy Johnson's putrid three-interception performance), Muschamp's crew held strong time and time again, making a statement to the college football world that the unit isn't the butt of every bad college football joke anymore.

This wasn't Auburn's best afternoon of football. 

Johnson's offensive woes will undoubtedly dominate headlines, and the defense didn't adjust to what Jackson was bringing to the table. 

This was a game, though, that would have turned south in a hurry for previous Auburn teams. At no point during the Malzahn era—save for perhaps the first half of the 2014 BCS National Championship Game—has the defense come out of the tunnel clicking on all cylinders. 

It did against the Cardinals in Muschamp's first game back, which gives Auburn plenty of hope for the future.

It now knows that, with this particular team, the defense has the ability to lead the charge. 

If Malzahn can get Johnson straightened out, the Tigers will be incredibly dangerous.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.