Before being hired by South Carolina, Will Muschamp had a track record of being an elite defensive coach. Halfway through his inaugural season in Columbia, that record is showing itself.
So far, the Gamecock defense is by no means elite, but in some areas, it's resembling a classic Muschamp defense.
Before arriving in Columbia, Muschamp had stints at LSU, Auburn and Texas as defensive coordinator before taking the head job at Florida in 2011. Throughout his time as a defensive coordinator, he had defenses that ranked in the top ten in every category.
While at LSU from 2002 to 2004 under head coach Nick Saban, Muschamp’s defense ranked inside the top 10 in total defense all three years. His best year in Baton Rouge was 2003. The Tigers split the national championship with Southern California that season, and Muschamp’s defense ranked inside the top 10 in total defense, run defense, scoring defense and turnovers.
After the 2004 season, Muschamp went to the Miami Dolphins for a season to be an assistant to Saban. He then took the job as Auburn’s defensive coordinator in 2006. His first year at Auburn, he had the Tigers ranked inside the top 20 in total defense, pass defense and scoring defense. Those rankings improved the next season as Auburn ranked inside the top 10 in total defense, pass defense and scoring defense in Muschamp's final year with the team.
In 2008, Muschamp took the defensive coordinator position at Texas. Over three seasons at Texas, Muschamp had the Longhorns ranked inside the top 20 in scoring defense and inside the top 10 in total defense in 2009 and 2010.
Muschamp then had four seasons as the Florida Gator head coach. During his time there, the Gators ranked inside the top 15 in total defense all four seasons. He then went back to Auburn for a year where the numbers were the worst during his coaching career, as the Tigers ranked No. 71 in total defense.
So far, the South Carolina defense, numbers-wise, is beginning to look like the defense in Muschamp’s first season at Texas.
The 2008 Longhorns went 12-1 with an elite offense and a bend-but-don’t-break defense. They ranked 51st in total defense, third in run defense, but 104th in pass defense. Though they gave up yards, they were 18th in scoring defense, only allowing 18.7 points per game. Their red zone efficiency was also ranked 11th, giving up only 31 scores out of 42 attempts. These numbers compare well to the South Carolina defense this season.
The Gamecocks are giving up 395 yards per game at the moment, good enough for 60th in the nation, which is average. Where the numbers are troubling for the Gamecocks is in the run game. South Carolina is ranked 110th in the nation giving up 222 yards a game. While the run defense is poor, the pass defense is knocking on the door of the “elite” bracket.
The Gamecocks are giving up 173 yards through the air so far, good enough for 14th in the country. They even have more interceptions than touchdowns, giving up five scores while coming up with six picks. The Gamecocks have been able to keep teams out of the end zone as well. They are currently giving up 20.2 points per game, which is good enough for 29th in the country. That is helped out big time by the red zone defense. Carolina is currently ranked eighth in red zone efficiency, only giving up 17 scores on 25 attempts.
Compare these numbers to last season, when the Gamecocks ranked 94th in total defense giving up nearly 430 yards per game. South Carolina ranked 57th in the red zone last season as well, giving up 38 scores out of 46 attempts. The team also gave up 27.5 points per game, which was ranked 71st. The improvement is massive.
Though all the numbers are not great, at the midway point through the season, the defense is showing signs of a Will Muschamp team. With the lack of help from the offensive side of the ball, we can expect that these numbers can only improve the rest of the year and into the future.