Mason: "Our Defense Showed Improvement" In Win Over NIU

Coach Sees Improvement Even If Fans, Media Do Not.

Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason opened his post game press conference by praising Northern Illinois for their effort in the COmmodores 24-18 win, the first of the season for  the Commodores. 

Mason then began sharing his thoughts on his team, including one on his defense. 

"Our defense showed, you know, showed improvement,"said Mason. "We let the lid off a little bit late in that ball game, that happens, but again, I thought these guys fought through a lot of snaps."

The end result tends to agree with Mason even if the stat line doesn't. 

On the day, Northern Illinois ran 63 offensive plays for 388 yards in total offense. 

Of those 388 yards, 108 came on the ground while quarterback Ross  Bowers went 17 of 32 for 280 yards and one touchdown.

Penalties contributed to some of the Huskies offensive success, as twice the Commdores defense were tagged with 15-yard personal foul penalties for illegal hands to the face that extended NIU drives. 

Linebacker Elijah McAllister lead the defense in negative plays with two sacks for 22 yards, while Brendon Harris and Dimitri Moore lead the team in total tackles with seven stops each. 

While the improvement can be debated, there's no doubt that there is still work, and improvement needed for this unit moving forward this season. 

The Comodores defensewill face a stiff tesof their defensive improvement next Sturday night against the Ole Miss Rebels at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 6;30 PM in Oxford, Ms.