Derek Mason lost his first two games against Vanderbilt’s in-state rival, but after winning the previous two games in the series against Tennessee, the Commodore coach has earned the right to brag about his program’s success over the Vols. While he had the opportunity to do so during his appearance in Atlanta for SEC Media Days on Thursday, Mason instead used his platform to praise the Tennessee fan base.

In Mason’s experience, Vol Nation vastly outnumbers the Vanderbilt faithful within the borders of the Volunteer State.

“They probably outnumber us fanwise 5 to 1,” Mason said at SEC Media Days from Atlanta. “Their fan base is their fan base, and it’s huge in the state of Tennessee, but for us, we try to control the controlables. What happens between the white lines is what matters. I don’t care what they say on TV, I don’t care what the line is going into the game. That’s what we try to do, we try to come out and play the game.”

Hearing the Vanderbilt coach praise Tennessee fans at an event like SEC Media Days is certainly interesting but it’s not surprising given the class Mason has displayed since his arrival in Nashville. Mason would later go on to say that if both in-state SEC programs are experiencing success, that’s good for his program and the entire state.

“If Tennessee football is doing well and Vanderbilt football is doing well then the state of Tennessee is doing well,” Mason continued. “I look forward to us doing our part, that’s all we can control. We look forward to playing good football in 2018.”

Unfortunately for Mason, he no longer gets the opportunity to face Butch Jones on an annual basis. Taking that into account, that could be part of the reason he’s currently speaking so highly of the Tennessee fan base as they have a new leader that has yet to lose to the Commodores.

For what it’s worth, Jeremy Pruitt’s Alabama defense shut out an undefeated Vanderbilt team in Nashville last season in a 59-point win.