The Vanderbilt Commodores suffered a tough shootout loss to Baylor in the Texas Bowl Thursday night 45-38.

The Bears gashed the Dores’ defense for 668 yards, 30 first downs and finished 5-5 on fourth down attempts.

Vanderbilt’s offense was led by RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who rushed for a Texas Bowl (and Vandy bowl record) 243 yards and two TDs on just 13 carries. QB Kyle Shurmur finished with 286 yards passing and one TD, but the biggest story of the game was Vandy’s inability to stop the Bears’ offense.

Following the loss to Baylor, Derek Mason spoke to the media, via video interview of The Tennessean. Below are the main topics he discussed:

  • Mason started off by thanking the Texas Bowl for a great experience.
  • “It was a heck of a game with a great offense on both sides with explosive plays.”
  • “Ke’Shawn Vaughn is a special player.”
  • “Defensively, we didn’t play well. We didn’t tackle well. That rears its ugly head generally during bowl season. Today, it was some missed opportunities, and that’s unfortunate.”
  • Mason on Vaughn’s potential NFL decision to leave school early: “This game won’t affect our conversation (about the NFL). He’ll get the right information and respond accordingly. … I think he’s capable of being a first-round back.”
  • “They did a good job of keeping us off-balance (on defense with the play calls). The dual-threat QB was used, and I thought he ran as well as their running backs did. He was the difference in this ball game. He was able to keep drives alive with his legs, and that was tough for us. … That was the difference for us not stopping the QB.”
  • “I thought we were fluid offensively. Defensively, we couldn’t get off the field on third and fourth down. Our offense kept us in it.”
  • “I do believe we have a good football team coming back. Even though we lose some guys, I think there’s maturity for some of these young guys who had to play.”