Vanderbilt's Mason Talks LSU as Tigers Prepare to Visit Nashville

The defending national champs from LSU will visit Nashville on Saturday, to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores.

When the Vanderbilt Commodores and LSU Tigers hit the field at Vanderbilt Stadium on Saturday, both teams will enter with identical 0-1 records. The Tigers, however, might be in a bit of a mood after dropping their season opener to Mississippi State at home, while the Commodores should be feeling better about themselves despite their loss following a solid performance against No.10 Texas A&M. 

Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason spent time with local media on Tuesday in his weekly video press conference, where he first shared his thought on his team's efforts against A&M. 

"For us, just coming off last week's game, I'm really encouraged bu what I saw from our football team," said Mason. "I look at what we were able to accomplish offensively where we were able to control the clock and moved the ball, things that you want to do, but to see it come to fruition was a good sign for the Commodores."

As for the Tigers, Mason had this to say about their loss and what they saw from the Bulldogs. 

"We're excited that LSU game week is here, we do get an opportunity to host the No.6 team in the country here in Nashville, so we're excited about that," Mason Said. 

"I know this much about Coach (Mike) Leach, I faced him enough when I was out at Stanford and what they do is throw the football," said Mason. "They major in throwing the football, so I think LSU went into that game (Miss. State) probably went into that game having some understanding of that but really had a chance to see it first hand and I think, it's about in-game adjustments and how you adjust and what you do."

"I thought for LSU, they played hard, and they gave themselves a chance," added Mason. "It's like each game, things happen, and so in looking at LSU, I thought their run game started ton show up midway through the second and I thought they were a little more balanced. But once they got behind, they had to throw the football probably a little more than they wanted to."

"With that, you look at an inexperienced quarterback who's been in that system, and even with a new coordinator, it's still the same system," added Mason. "I look at their receiving corps where they've got one veteran, but some other experienced guys, They've got an experienced running back. Their o-line is working to gel together, so when you look at it, I think it was just the first game, and the biggest improvement comes from game one to game two." 

"LSU and Coach Orgeron will come in here ready to play, they'll be prepared and what we've got to do is finish our preparations and make sure we line up and play football," Mason said.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 pm Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium. 

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