[Tuck4Bama]

AUBURN -- Defensive players say they don't want Auburn's offensive struggles to become a source of disunity on the team.

Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, whose unit has played well in the two opening games, said he's sure it won't happen because the defense hasn't been perfect, either.

"You have to guard (against) that," he said. "We tell them that football is a cumulative effort throughout the entire game. We've got to do more to win the games. We have to do more on defense to win games."

Head coach Tommy Tuberville said the defense must do a better job of creating turnovers. Muschamp added third-down play to the list.
"We have a lot of room for improvement," he said. "There are a lot of areas to look at."

Defensive end Sen'Derrick Marks, a former Vigor standout, said he focuses on his job while encouraging his offensive teammates.

"When you look at it, they play offense, we play defense," he said. "No matter what happens with them, we go out and do what the defense does.

"All we can do is keep them up. When they turn the ball over three times down in the opponent's red zone, we've got to go out there and stop them. The last two games, a team drove down and scored points on the defense at the beginning of the game. We've got to do our defensive job, they do their offensive job and the special teams do their job."

AUBURN NOTEBOOK: Muschamp says 'D' must improve, too- al.com