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New coordinator (who has yet to officially take over) and a new year. Same result.
For the seventh time in its last seven games, Auburn surrendered at least 31 points to a Power 5 opponent. For the second time in its last three games, the Tigers run defense — generally considered the strength of the unit early in the season — gave up at least 250 yards on the ground.
No. 18 Wisconsin put 34 points on the board in a winning effort over 19th-ranked Auburn. The Badgers, behind standout tailbacks Melvin Gordon and Corey Clement, rushed for 400 yards en route to 521 total yards of offense.
The Tigers knew what was coming and still couldn’t stop it.
It’s this type of performance, this lack of discipline that led head coach Gus Malzahn to fire former defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson and hire Will Muschamp in what has been widely considered the hire of the offseason in college football. While he observed bowl preparations and was spotted in the press box wearing a headset, secondary coach Charlie Harbison coordinated the Tigers for the bowl.
Harbison, looking for different results, simplified the plan and coached a group of players inspired by Muschamp’s arrival, eager to impress their new coach.
The result, however, was all too familiar.
Wisconsin converted on just three of 12 third downs and had three turnovers, but none of that mattered. Gordon and Clement did what they wanted, gashing the Tigers between the tackles and on the perimeter. Auburn, so focused on Gordon early, allowed Clement to pick up most of his 105 yards in the first half. The sophomore put the Badgers in position for their first touchdown of the day with a 43-yard jet sweep around the left side, sprung by two good perimeter blocks.
While the Badgers earned a lot of those yards behind a powering offensive line and good blocking to seal the edges, Auburn’s head-scratching lack of discipline on defense shot itself in the foot time after time.
Bad angles, a lack of pursuit and an inability to wrap up plagued the Tigers against two elite backs. Penalties also reared their ugly head for Auburn, spotlighting an immaturity and lack of leadership on the defensive side of the ball.
Midway through the third quarter, Melvin Gordon took a power play to the right side and went out of bounds. Linebacker Cassanova McKinzy took an inexcusable late hit on Gordon, tacking on 15 yards. Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave would be intercepted two plays later, taking McKinzy and the Tigers off the hook.
Late in the fourth quarter, Gordon darted for 20 yards to the left side, getting across midfield as Wisconsin drove to tie the game. As Gordon was pushed out of bounds, McKinzy’s linebacking counterpart Kris Frost hit the Heisman finalist late setting up the Badgers’ game-tying field goal.
It’s those types of plays that infuriate coaches and affect playing time. It’s those types of plays that have decimated Auburn during this program-worst seven-game stretch defensively. And it’s because of those types of plays that the Tigers had to make a change.
The criticism is fair, but it doesn’t all belong on the now-departed Johnson or his staff. With last season’s 12-2 mark capped by an SEC championship and national title appearance, some of the criticism has to be shouldered by Malzahn. He’s said Muschamp will have full autonomy on the defense, and by all accounts Johnson did.
The second-year Auburn CEO is responsible for the worst defense in school history, and he’s charged with turning it around. Thursday’s 34-31 loss to Wisconsin gave the Tigers no momentum moving into the offseason, however. For a team desperately hoping for an improved outing, Thursday’s performance is as demoralizing as it could have been.
Malzahn made the change he had to make when he fired Johnson and hired Muschamp.
Can the two now make the ensuing changes to field a somewhat respectable defense in 2015?
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
