Former Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Derek Mason spent time as a defensive coordinator before becoming the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders’ head coach in 2024. His 2026 campaign is off to a solid start, but his team lost 23-13 to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in its first Conference USA game.
Days later, Mason is still aggravated at the officiating in the defeat. During his Monday press conference, Mason blasted not only the refs from his most recent contest, but every official in his conference.
“I just had some serious dialogue… about the referee calls in this damn ball game. I’m tired of the bullsh-t,” Mason told reporters. “Excuse my French… we gotta get to a point where these damn referees show up and do their damn job.”
The Gamecocks were flagged just three times in their victory over the Blue Raiders. Mason submitted 17 missed holding calls to the league, saying the officiating was “straight-up bull.”
“I’m not one to ever get in front of the media and talk about these types of things,” Mason said. “These referees gotta be better… that’s a message going out to everybody who refs these damn games. Be better.”
Middle Tennessee State (2-2, 0-1 C-USA) plays at the Kansas Jayhawks in Week 5.
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