Vandy looking to shake off ugly loss

GAINESVILLE — In the days following the program’s worst loss in 23 years, Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason turned back the clock.

Four weeks into the season, he and the Commodores started over.

On Monday, Mason’s squad was in full pads for the first time since August. The next morning, Vanderbilt was back on the field, looking to sweat and strain its way past last Saturday’s 59-0 loss to Alabama.

If only it were so easy to rid the stain of such a demoralizing defeat.

“It’s one thing to be disappointed, but disappointment goes away,” Mason said. “The anger and the stench of a loss like that, you don’t wash it off, you don’t take a shower and it just rolls down the drain. That’s about getting back to work, that’s about a certain mentality and certain culture that we try to build.

“You need a game to get it off you.”

Mason hopes the training camp-like intensity translates into a strong showing against No. 21 UF (2-1, 2-0 SEC) Saturday in the Swamp. Otherwise, a promising start will be down the drain.

“One game doesn’t define you,” Mason said. “We can’t let one become two.”

Riding a wave of confidence and enthusiasm, the Commodores foolishly welcomed the top-ranked Crimson Tide to Vanderbilt Stadium with open arms.

Faced with the ultimate measuring stick, the Commodores failed spectacularly. Alabama outgained Vanderbilt by 599 yards and held a 38-3 edge in first downs to hand the Commodores’ their largest defeat since a 65-0 loss to Tennessee in 1994.

“It wasn’t good football, it wasn’t good coaching, we didn’t compete, there wasn’t a sense of urgency and we never responded,” said Mason, checking off the list of offenses.

Mason, now in his fourth season, has been building his program slowly but surely in Nashville, where SEC success is a recent phenomenon.

He did not expect to feel like he was starting over again, until last Saturday’s humbling defeat.

“This is the first time they’ve faced some adversity this season,” Mason said. “I’m talking about serious adversity that can knock you off where you’re trying to go. It’s just trying to get these guys back to ground zero.”

Mason’s body of work suggests the Commodores (3-1, 0-1) will bounce back.

The 43-year-old’s work ethic, energy and evenkeeled nature have inspired a seemingly impossible rebuilding effort following James Franklin’s exit to Penn State.

Franklin coached the Commodores to 24 wins during three seasons — a span when the program accomplished things it had not since the 1940s, including Vanderbilt’s 2013 win in Gainesville. Franklin also left the cupboard bare.

Progress was slow under Mason.

The Commodores did not win an SEC game during his first season, won two in 2015 and three last season as Vanderbilt reached a bowl game. The school awarded Mason a contract extension and raise last spring.

“I know what a good coach he is, how much his players play for him and more than that the direction they’ve gone,” UF coach Jim McElwain said. “I think everybody can see what they’ve done with their program.”

Mason’s teams have played McElwain’s tough, falling 9-7 to UF in 2015 and 13-6 last season.

Just in case his Gators think losing big to Alabama makes Vanderbilt vulnerable, McElwain can remind them of back-to-back SEC title game losses by a combined score of 83-31.

“Our guys got nothing about getting your tails kicked by Alabama,” McElwain said.

But the Commodores’ loss is fresh. Mason’s team was riding a wave that came crashing down.

No one was crushed more than Mason. No one also has had to move past the frustration faster.