Commodores, Mason eager to take on Tide
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt is ready for its showdown with top-ranked Alabama, the moment that Commodores coach Derek Mason has been working toward since arriving on campus.
“We relish the opportunity,” Mason said. “We're going to play good teams in this conference, but we don't fear anybody in this conference. That's what you sign up for when you come to the SEC. Nobody wants to be the doormat of the SEC. If that's the case, then you have to be about the work to build a solid foundation to be able to compete.”
Vanderbilt was the league's cellar dweller with splashes of success. Coach Bobby Johnson and later James Franklin — now at Penn State — took the Commodores to bowl games, had winning records and a few upsets of ranked teams.
Now the Commodores (3-0) find themselves one of the SEC's five remaining undefeated teams, including Alabama (3-0), in Mason's fourth season — fresh off upsetting then-No. 18 Kansas State 14-7. Vanderbilt has won seven of its last 10 games and upset the last two Top 25 teams it has played.
Mix that with a defense that's the nation's stingiest in points, yards and against the pass, it's a combination Alabama coach Nick Saban appreciates.
Saban also thinks the Commodores deserve to be ranked going into the SEC opener for both teams this afternoon.
“He's got a really good team,” Saban said of Mason. “They play well.
“They're really wellcoached. They play hard, physical, tough. They've got very good schemes on offense and defense and special teams, so when you watch the film you see a really good team that's really well coached, and I think Derek deserves a lot of credit for that.”
Alabama, which hasn't lost in Nashville to Vanderbilt since 1969, is focused on tuning up after a 41-23 win over Colorado State where Saban put his first-team offense back on the field to finish off the win.
This will be the eighth game all-time for Vanderbilt against the top-ranked team, and the Commodores are 0-7 in such games.
This is their first chance at No. 1 since losing to Florida in 2009 and first on campus since losing to eventual national champion Tennessee in 1998. Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur says Alabama has earned their ranking and the Commodores’ respect.
“But we're not going to back down,” Shurmur said. “We work hard, too. We're going to go out, and we're going to compete.”
Alabama linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton had said after a so-so defensive performance against Colorado State the defenders needed a “come-to-Jesus meeting.” Apparently, it wasn't deemed necessary after all.
“I don't think words are going to really do anything right now, but actions are going to do a whole lot more,” safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said. “So, all I did [Monday], I tried to fly around, make all the calls and stuff like that. Shaun Dion was doing the same thing, just leading by example. And pretty much everybody followed; everybody did what they were supposed to do.”
Don't be surprised to see the Commodores line up on defense with some unique looks. Mason, who calls his own defense, says it's a way to catch quarterbacks getting play calls from the sideline off guard. Vanderbilt has taken advantage with five interceptions, tied with Alabama for ninth nationally.