Auburn's Defense Has Long Way to Go, but Will Muschamp Can Fix Tigers' Problems

TAMPA, Fla. — A new year didn't bring new change for the Auburn defense.

On the first day of 2015, the Tigers gave up 521 yards—including 251 rushing yards to Heisman runner-up Melvin Gordon alone—in a 34-31 overtime loss to Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.

New Year's Day marked the seventh straight time Auburn allowed more than 400 yards of total offense and 30 points to a FBS opponent.

Thankfully for Auburn, there are 364 days left in the year to turn things around defensively and get back into contention for a College Football Playoff spot.

And the man hired to be the architect of that change was at Raymond James Stadium on Thursday afternoon—incoming defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

"We just hired the best defensive coach in football," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. "He's going to get our defense going 100 percent."

Muschamp did not coach his new team in the Outback Bowl as Charlie Harbison, the safeties coach under former coordinator Ellis Johnson, served as an interim coordinator for the game.

The former Florida coordinator sat in a booth with a headset and continued to do what he had done during Auburn's bowl practices.

"He was listening and observing," Malzahn said. "He's trying to get to know our guys and see how they'll react."

Muschamp had a lot to observe Thursday, and it was not pretty.

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An Auburn defense that started the 2014 season strong in stopping the run allowed 400 rushing yards to the Badgers. The Outback Bowl was the first time a Tiger opponent had rushed for more than 350 yards since Johnny Manziel's Texas A&M team thrashed Auburn 63-21 in 2012.

"They did a good job scheming us, spreading us out and running between the tackles," junior linebacker Kris Frost said. "When you least expected it, they hit you with the play-action fake. You kind of have to stay on your toes about all of it. That's what kind of makes stopping their run difficult."

Senior cornerback Trovon Reed's explanation for Wisconsin's success was much simpler, according to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer's Ryan Black:

While Gordon and the rest of the Badgers ran wild, the Tigers still made stops—including three interceptions of Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave—and had chances to change momentum on defense.

But defensive penalties extended drives and handed out free yards for Wisconsin, including an early pass-interference call on struggling senior cornerback Jonathon Mincy and a late hit by Frost on the final drive of the fourth quarter.

In the final game of a disappointing 8-5 season, the SEC's most penalized team finished with nine fouls for 75 yards.

After the game, Malzahn pointed to the flags as a crucial problem for his new defensive coordinator to solve.

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"That's some of the same stuff that we've done this year," Malzahn said. "It's a good thing we hired the best defensive coordinator in college football, and he'll get it corrected."

While the statistics didn't show it at the end of a game with more missed tackles and frustrating third-down conversions, Frost said Muschamp has already an impact on Auburn's struggling defense.

"I feel like he brought a new feel, a new attitude, a new atmosphere to the defense," Frost said. "It's all about getting back to the old Auburn defense. Really, any time you do that, you're bound to be successful when you have something new. Change is going to happen, and with him, I think he's definitely the right guy for the job."

Muschamp definitely has a monumental challenge ahead of him, as the Tigers have not had a high-ranking defense since the last time he was on the Plains.

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Auburn will lose several defensive linemen and defensive backs to graduation, and starting junior linebackers Frost and Cassanova McKinzy have toyed with the idea of declaring for the NFL draft.

But, according to the departing Reed, the future is still bright with the youth of Auburn's defense and its new coordinator.

"It's going to be a scary sight next year," Reed said. "We have some guys who are going to fill in some shoes and fill in well. There are a lot of young guys who could've played in this game today, but they were redshirting.

"Next year, I believe Auburn can go all the way."

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.

Justin Ferguson is Bleacher Report's lead Auburn writer. Follow him on Twitter @JFergusonAU.