MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Derek Mason was calm by the time he appeared at the podium after Middle Tennessee's 49-21 loss to Western Kentucky.
He was classy, complimenting WKU for their level of play and talent. He was candid, pointing out special teams miscues, poor execution in the red zone and defensive breakdowns with a matter-of-fact tone.
Most of all, he was blunt about where the blame lay for the Blue Raiders' sixth straight loss in the series, one where MTSU allowed the Hilltoppers' backup quarterback to dice up the secondary for nearly 400 yards passing with only three incompletions, where the Blue Raiders failed to convert a fourth down in three tries and only scored in the redzone once in three trips.