Derek Mason after the loss: “I’ll say it again: We had our fair share of opportunities to win this game. You can look at the boxscore. You can look at everything there. The only thing we came up short on was points and turnovers. We have to be better in both of those areas.”

https://twitter.com/MickeyRyan1045/status/639651191832621056

Opening Comments:

“I’d like to give credit where credit is due. Western Kentucky made plays when they needed to make plays and came out with a victory. You can’t turn the ball over twice in the red zone. We had a missed field goal opportunity and missed defensive opportunities… I thought until the end that we were going to win… I’d ask our fan base to stick around… We put pressure on [Western Kentucky quarterback Brandon] Doughty all night.”

On Big Situations:

“In order to win, you have to come up big in big situations. Western Kentucky played big in big situations.”

On whether Vanderbilt’s defense wore down:

“I don’t think we were worn down at all. I think it’s the mental part we were struggling with. This is football.”

On Vanderbilt’s failed two-point conversion:

“[Nathan Marcus] needed to run it to the end zone. Create the depth. Make it easy. It’s a great play by their kids
and a missed opportunity by our kids… We just weren’t where we needed to be in [points] and [turnovers].”

On Losing:

“I don’t accept losing. I don’t believe in losing.”

On Vanderbilt Running Back Ralph Webb:

“Ralph was everywhere tonight. He was a three-dimensional back and we needed to give it to him.”

On McCrary’s Runs:

“We moved the ball, we just didn’t put it in the end zone.”

“There were opportunities.. You have to keep your composure. If nothing else, let’s kick a field goal… [McCrary] has a high ceiling. We need to keep working with him and staying behind him… It’s about continuing to stay the course. Everyone has a hard job, but [McCrary’s] is the toughest. He doesn’t need to go out there and be Superman.”

“The more time [in a game you have], lots of things will get better.”

On the Failed Onside Kick:

“I didn’t see [originally] if it hit his leg and he fell forward. On the replay, I saw it. The call was the call.”