Things were not looking great for Vanderbilt.
After a 2-4 start that saw losses to South Carolina and Kentucky, another disappointing season without a bowl game— and possibly the end of a three-year run for coach Derek Mason — seemed inevitable.
And then it happened. Over the next six weeks, Mason said he saw a complete transformation with his program, as the Commodores “sacrificed their bodies to enrich their minds with grueling practices” that made them a much tougher team to beat.
Vanderbilt won four of its next six games, including back-to-back wins over Ole Miss and then-No. 17 Tennessee, to finish 6-6 (3-5) and receive an invite to the Independence Bowl — its first postseason appearance since James Franklin’s final season in 2013.
“At a place like Vanderbilt, you have to do the little things right,” Mason told ESPN. “Everyone had an oar on the boat, and everybody was rowing in the right direction.”
Head over to the original story at ESPN to read more about how the Dores were able to make changes for the better in just the knick of time.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
