MTSU football head coach Rick Stockstill talks about their tough loss at Illinois and the upcoming homecoming game with Vanderbilt.

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Opening Remarks: "With Vanderbilt this week, I am looking forward to this challenge. It's an opportunity to play an SEC team. I think Vanderbilt is a much-improved team. I think their defense is really good. They give you a lot of different looks defensively with their scheme. They are active, run and bring pressure from a lot of different areas on the field. We have got to able to handle that. Offensively, they are getting better and better each week and I think their quarterback is starting to settle in... It's a game that we are looking forward to."

On the play of Richie James: "Richie has only played four college games, so you hope that you see improvement each week and he has improved. Richie is a really good player and he is a really unselfish player. All of our players are unselfish and I think it shows up more at the receiver position than any other on the field. All of those guys play well without the ball and Richie has been playing well with the ball."

On Vanderbilt's defense: "They give teams problems with the variety of blitzes and stunts that they do up front. They do a good job of keeping you off-balanced. Anytime you play a team that brings a lot of pressure like they do, you have got to avoid negative plays. You can't make mistakes against a team like this, so that's part of the reason for the success that they have had."

On hosting Vanderbilt: "I am supposed to say it's a huge deal, but as a coach, you don't look at it that way. We are excited that an SEC team is coming here. Yes, we are excited that Vanderbilt is coming here because they are next door. Our team doesn't get caught up in all that stuff. We are excited about the opportunity to play another good SEC team. I hope the atmosphere will be electric and I hope our students and people from this community come. There has been a lot of talk about this game since this summer, so I hope it's a sell-out."

On the loss at Illinois: "I think there is more disappointment than feel-good. We don't look at any game as one where we don't think we have a chance to win. We were disappointed that we didn't beat Alabama and we are equally disappointed that we didn't beat Illinois. We fought our guts out and overcame a lot of adversity in that game. We had a chance to win it and didn't get it done... I do think that there is a sense of pride within this team that we can play with anybody."

On "bragging rights" game with Vanderbilt: "This is the first time we have played Vanderbilt in 10 years. I always say that 'it takes time to build these games up'. I know our staff and our players feel excited that we get a chance to play and SEC team. Everybody always says that the SEC is the best conference in the country and anytime we get a chance to play those guys it's special. It means something to us this week I can promise you that."