Oct. 15, 2017
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
OXFORD, Miss. – The night was muggy in north Mississippi as Derek Mason strolled off the field at Ole Miss’ Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday. Behind Mason, the scoreboard told an unfortunate tale: Vanderbilt had dropped a 57-35 loss to the host Rebels. It was a result Mason didn’t take lightly, and afterward the coach was direct in diagnosing his program’s ills.
“All the way around,” Mason said, “it needs to be better.”
The Commodores had ventured to Oxford in hopes of jump-starting the second half of their season. They had suffered three straight losses to ranked opponents in the previous three weeks, hitting the season’s midpoint with a 3-3 record. But Vanderbilt wasn’t able to regain momentum against an Ole Miss team that was riding its own three-game losing streak.
Now the Dores have an opportunity to right the ship. They enter a bye week before traveling to South Carolina on Oct. 28. For a Vanderbilt team looking for answers, an open date couldn’t have come at a better time.
“We’re going to get back to campus, get our guys rested, take the bye and do what needs to be done to fix this slide,” Mason said.
Vanderbilt stood tall against Ole Miss for much of the first half. The Dores responded to an early 7-0 deficit by scoring a pair of consecutive touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. But in that same period, the quarterback Shea Patterson and the Rebels’ offense turned on the jets. They answered with 28 straight points and carried a 35-21 lead into halftime.
When the Dores opened the second half in search of a spark, they couldn’t find it. Quarterback Kyle Shurmur coughed up a fumble on Vanderbilt’s first possession of the third quarter, and the Commodores recovered in the end zone for an Ole Miss safety. On the ensuing series, the Rebels responded with another touchdown to secure momentum and increase their lead, 44-21.
THE POINT AFTER: What happened in Vanderbilt’s loss to Ole Miss
In the end, Ole Miss rode 603 yards of offense and seven sacks to victory. From missed tackles to whiffed field goals to poor pass protection, the Dores said their fundamentals weren’t up to par.
“The players make the calls come alive,” safety LaDarius Wiley said. “As a group, we have to work on those little things.”
That’s Mason’s plan for the bye week ahead. It’s an opportunity for Vanderbilt to regroup, reenergize and define the team that it wants to be.
“It’s got to be about mentally adjusting the attitude and figuring out exactly where we’re at,” Mason said. “I’ll start with my captains, my leaders, these seniors, and we’ll talk about where we are. Because I think it needs to be talked about and discussed. Then we’ll put a plan together to make sure we get this group mentally fresh. Our practices will be more about fundamentals, because that’s what’s lacking right now.”
Fortunately for Vanderbilt, the remaining schedule remains manageable. The Commodores face no team that entered Saturday ranked in the top 25. Moreover, none of the Dores’ final five opponents rank higher than 62nd nationally in total defense. If Vanderbilt approaches it correctly, the schedule can be a recipe for success.
But first, it’s about fixing what’s broken. Welcome to the bye week, Commodores.
“That falls on us leaders on the team,” running back Ralph Webb said. “We’ve got to make sure we keep that up and keep the focus. We’ve got to use this bye week to bounce back.”
Zac Ellis is the Writer and Digital Media Editor for Vanderbilt Athletics.
