It took three years, but Derek Mason finally matched his predecessor. Not James Franklin. Robbie Caldwell.
Mason matched Caldwell by beating Ole Miss, coaching Vanderbilt to a 38-17 home victory over the Rebels. The win set a new high mark for Vanderbilt under its third-year head coach. Mason won three games in 2014 and four in 2015 before earning win No. 5 on Saturday.
The victory doesn’t just give Mason a tangible improvement over his first two seasons on the sideline; it will also likely send the Commodores to the postseason. Thanks to one of the nation’s highest APR scores, Vanderbilt is in good shape to fill a vacant bowl position even with a 5-7 record.