Senior Bowl takeaways part 1: The Game

National team takes down American team 16-7 on the back of four turnovers

Spencer Rattler took home MVP after the college football showcase in Hancock Whitney Stadium of Mobile, Ala.

By Aidan Treu

 

The Reese’s Senior Bowl started fast with an impressive drive orchestrated by the American team, however was quite the opposite of a tone-setter.

Not only did it include one of just two touchdowns scored by either side in the whole game, but the American team would not score a single point the rest of the way.

South Carolina University quarterback Spencer Rattler had the stateliest performance of any offensive player just a few plays into the game. Before he could get started though, Texas Christian University running back Emani Bailey got five straight touches, gaining chunk yardage on the first four.

Then Rattler got to work. It did not take long until the American team’s starting QB found University of Georgia wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint on a fade route against press coverage for a 29-yard touchdown.

Rattler would only play two series, compiling a final line of four completions on four attempts for 65 yards and a touchdown. His short showcase was enough for him to win game MVP.

After a pair of stops for each side, Oregon University QB Bo Nix and the National team found themselves inside the 10-yard line by way of the ground game.

Nix would roll out to his right and find Minnesota University tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford back across the field right at the goal line for a game-tying touchdown.

From there on out, both defenses locked in, and not another touchdown was scored by either side.

A trio of field goals by the National team’s Joshua Karty, a Stanford University product, would be all of the scoring offense for the rest of the afternoon.

Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton and the American team had a shot to go ahead before the last of Karty’s three field goals, but Washington State University’s Chau Smith-Wade picked off Milton to set up Karty’s third and final kick, the dagger.

Smith-Wade tacked on a second interception in as many American team possessions for good measure on the ensuing drive.

A pick by University of Louisville corner back Jarvis Brownlee off of Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman and an American team botched snap fumble recovered by the National team earlier on helped cement the final. The American team could not overcome their four turnovers and the game came to an end, 16-7, National team on top.

Other than Smith-Wade, Florida State University defensive tackle Bradeen Fiske was likely the most impressive defensive player on either side. Fiske, the first player ever traded to or from a senior bowl team, joined the National team when they were short on defensive linemen.

The American team sorely missed his production. The 24-year-old finished with four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, half a sack and a pressure.

University of Kentucky linebacker Trevin Wallace was another notable defensive player. He showed his versatility in several ways and finished with six tackles for the American team.

The Senior Bowl and the full week of practices are less about who wins the game and much more about prospects elevating their draft status. Rattler, Bailey, Nix, Smith-Wade, Fiske and Wallace are among the players who might have bought themselves another look from NFL teams even if they had been previously written off.