Senior Bowl Report Card: Grading the game, the experience and more

Parking — A-

An hour or two before the game, traffic was moving along at a fine pace along E Dublin and along Virginia Street, two east-west city streets on either side of Ladd-Peebles Stadium. After the game, a barely perceptible bump in the number of cars on the road could be seen along Government Street on the way toward the interstates or downtown. Who can complain about that?

A number of $10 parking spots abounded in driveways, high school parking lots, or random fields very close to the stadium. A number of cars made their way into the stadium lots, where the tailgating scene was hopping all morning and evening.

Kickers and punters — B

There were glorious punts launched toward the sky, drawing “oooohhhhhs” from the crowd. One punt even rolled 20 yards after a 40-yard kick, only to stop dead at the one-yard line.

Oklahoma’s Austin Seibert missed an early field goal, but rebounded to hit two other close shots. LSU’s Cole Tracy missed an extra point, but also bounced back to hit two later field goals. It was a little surprising, to say the least, to witness kicks wide of the uprights in a game featuring what should be a showdown between some of the top kickers in the NCAA.

Also, you’ve got to wonder: are any scouts at these games to watch the field goal kickers? Like, “yeah, I’m a kicking scout.” Doesn’t sound like a bad gig.