Auburn Tigers

Muschamp wanted the opportunity to win the opener with a stop

Published Sep. 9, 2015 11:36 p.m. ET

foxsports

Thanks to a rare mishap with clock management down the stretch, Auburn did not ultimately need their defense to secure the first win of the season. The opportunity to run out the clock would seem to have been everyone's preferred method of ending the game, everyone but Will Muschamp that is.

"It would have been awesome to go out and win the game on defense," Muschamp said according to AL.com. "I would have loved to have fumbled the kick return to go out on defense and make a stop, to be honest. That's just my mentality. You want to go out and win the game."

Even though the defense allowed Louisville to creep back into the game late in the fourth quarter, their new coordinator would have liked to see how his players responded to a crucial situation.

"You embrace that opportunity," Muschamp said. "I told our team at the hotel before the game, 'I hope it comes down to the last drive and I hope we have that opportunity to be in the picture so they can count on us. They need to be able to count on us.' That's the mentality we're going to have. I'd have embraced it fully. I would have loved it."

While this game may not have come down to a stop, if Auburn is going to capture the SEC title this season they'll likely need their defense to step up and win at least a game along the way in league play.

One way or another, Muschamp will likely get his wish this season. How will they respond?

(h/t AL.com)

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