Vanderbilt opens their season at home tonight against Western Kentucky, and Derek Mason can only hope that it goes better than his last season opener.
Mason's first-ever game as an NCAA head coach went about as poorly as it could have. A rumbling thunderstorm delayed the game more than two hours past its scheduled starting time, then Temple - a team brought to Nashville for an easy matchup against an FBS program - wound up thrashing the Commodores on their home field. To make matters worse, Vanderbilt was penalized for wearing improper jerseys with "Anchor Down" printed on the nameplate, only to have that penalty overturned when Athletic Director David Williams presented officials with a printed e-mail that seemingly gave the team permission to use the bad luck jerseys.