2. Cullen Gillaspia
Gillaspia didn’t see a lot of snaps on defense in this one, but as usual, he did make sure his presence was felt on special teams. He ended up making the play of the game for Texas A&M. And when the 12th man makes a play, we have to show him some love!
The play mentioned above occurred on a 4th-and-8 for Alabama. The Crimson Tide had their back against the wall with the ball on their own 3-yard line as they prepared to punt. Then it happened.
The fan favorite Gillaspia came flying through the middle of the Alabama line, running over a helpless Bama punt protector, and blocking the punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
The 12th man, accounted for the safety to earn the Aggies their 12th point of the game, and made it a 12 point ball game. I don’t think you could have scripted that better if you wanted to.
But in all seriousness, that one play was the turning point of the game. It impacted the rest of the second half, because when the 12th man on the field makes a play, the 12th man in the stands goes absolutely nuts! Gillaspia’s big punt block got the team and the crowd right back into the game.