Is the Will Muschamp Experiment at Auburn an Early Bust?

Remember last offseason when first-year Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp was supposed to be the magic elixir that transformed Auburn's defense from punchline to power and join head coach Gus Malzahn to create one of the most feared coaching forces in college football?

So far, not so good.

The Tigers rank last in the SEC in total defense (426.2 YPG), 11th in yards per play (5.75), 13th in rush defense (197.67 YPG), 11th in pass defense (228.5 YPG) and tied for 12th in scoring defense (25.7 PPG). 

Six games into the season, is it time to call the Muschamp experiment a bust at Auburn?

Early on, yes.

Stat	2014	2015
Total Defense	398.8 YPG	426.2 YPG
Yards Per Play	5.67	5.75
Rush Defense	168.77 YPG	197.67 YPG
Pass Defense	230.1 YPG	228.5 YPG
Scoring Defense	26.7 PPG	25.7 PPG
3rd Down Conv. %	35.75	45.68
Red Zone TD %	55.56	61.54

While the offense has taken the brunt of the criticism due to the ineffectiveness of former starting quarterback Jeremy Johnson, the dismissal of wide receiver "Duke" Williams and an identity that was missing in action for the majority of the first half of the season, the defense has been par for the course for Auburn...and that's bad.

The Tigers haven't finished in the top half of the SEC in total defense since 2007, which was the last year of Muschamp's first stint as the defensive coordinator on the Plains. With the talent Auburn has on its roster, there's no reason why a somewhat adequate defense shouldn't be attainable.

Sure, the loss of "Buck" Carl Lawson in the first half of the first game hurts, but with players like Montravius Adams, Kris Frost, Cassanova McKinzy, Byron Cowart and others in the front seven, one player shouldn't make that much of a difference—even in a transition year.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Even a player as talented as Lawson.

The early returns on the Muschamp era at Auburn have it looking more like his head coaching career at Florida rather than his work as a coordinator at Texas and Auburn in the 2000s that made him one of the hottest coordinators in the country.

But there is reason for hope. 

With Auburn up three and reeling defensively late in last week's game versus Kentucky, Malzahn was faced with a 4th-and-1 from his own 47-yard line with 2:19 to play. After thinking about going for it when one first down would ice away the game, he punted and handed the game to Muschamp and his defense—which had already given up 458 yards on the night.

It worked.

Muschamp's defense held Kentucky on 4th-and-3 at the Tiger 44-yard line and escaped Lexington with its first conference win of the year.

Will that matter moving forward?

The Tigers travel to Arkansas this week to take on a Razorback offense that's loaded up front with a massive offensive line, a talented running back in Alex Collins, a veteran quarterback in Brandon Allen and a unit that is achieving much more balance than it has in years past.

"As a linebacker, you have to enjoy contact," linebacker Tre' Williams said, according to Wesley Sinor of AL.com. "With Arkansas, you're going to come out of this game pretty sore. You have to get your mind right from Day 1. We knew what we were getting into ever since the beginning of the season... It's going to be a big one and it's a must-win, so we're going to do whatever we can do to get that W."

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

After that, Ole Miss comes to town and the Tigers will travel to Texas A&M—both of which can move the ball up and down the field. 

Good luck, Muschamp.

The defense is a bust as of now. There's far too much talent on Auburn's roster to regress further from last year's group, especially since Muschamp's presence was supposed to make an immediate impact on the Plains.

But the close to the Kentucky game and Malzahn's willingness to put the game in the hands of Muschamp at least provided a small spark.

If Muschamp can transform that into a fire during the little bit of extra time he received following last Thursday's game against momentum, he can change the narrative of Auburn's defense down the stretch.

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.