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Notre Dame Football: Vanderbilt Head Coach Provides Bulletin Board Material

By Mason Plummer

NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Derek Mason of the Vanderbilt Commodores speaks to his defensive players during the first half of a game against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Vanderbilt Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Derek Mason of the Vanderbilt Commodores speaks to his defensive players during the first half of a game against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Vanderbilt Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /
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At SEC Media Day, Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason had some strong words about his team’s Week 3 visit to South Bend.

Notre Dame Football hosts Vanderbilt in Week 3. Thursday, Vanderbilt head football coach Derek Mason said at the SEC media day that he “does not worry about going to South Bend”, when asked if he was concerned about his team’s Week 3 matchup with the Irish.

As a Notre Dame fan, when I first read this I was absolutely taken aback. If someone with credibility like a Nick Saban or a Dabo Swinney came out and said that they’re not afraid of coming to South Bend to play Notre Dame, so be it. They run powerhouse programs that consistently challenge for national titles.

But Derek Mason?!

Mason’s Vandy football program has been dreadful. Not to say Vanderbilt has ever been a true football powerhouse, but with one win in their last eight SEC games, you could say there is quite a bit of room for improvement.

When your previous season includes a 59-0 thrashing at the hands of Alabama, you know something isn’t right. Mason was on thin ice as it was, and with these comments, his days at Vandy could be numbered.

Mason’s point in saying he is not afraid to visit South Bend was that his team plays in the SEC week-in and week-out, so they see all sorts of tough crowds. While that is true, there are hundreds of others ways he could’ve answered this question without trying to degrade the legendary football tradition of both South Bend and the University of Notre Dame.

Rather than saying “Yeah we play in the SEC, I don’t worry about going to South Bend”, he could’ve easily just stated something like, “We are used to playing in tough environments, and we expect South Bend to be no different”. But no, Mason had to go and enrage an entire Notre Dame fanbase.

Let me tell ya, Notre Dame fans may be the last group you want to mess with when it comes to this kind of stuff. You would be hard-pressed to find a group of fans more passionate than those of Notre Dame.

With comments like this being made in the preseason, one can guarantee the Notre Dame players heard it loud and clear. This is especially true with how rampant social media is these days; there is no missing any news like this.

Next: Another Meaningless Conference Re-Alignment Article

I’d bet anything that the Irish players now will have this game circled on their calendars. If there was ever any lack of motivation, there surely is none anymore. Expect to see a very fired up Notre Dame squad come September 15th.

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