Jaylen Moody gets penalty for pulling Mason Fletcher off pile

Cincinnati punter Mason Fletcher was all over the first half of the College Football Playoff semifinal game between his Bearcats and the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday.

Fletcher punted a ball for Cincinnati late in the second quarter. Alabama’s JoJo Earle fumbled the return but recovered it. There was a pileup of players as they fought to recover the fumble, and even Fletcher got in on it.

Jaylen Moody was trying to help his teammates and began removing Fletcher from the pile. Fletcher then sort of flopped backwards, drawing a penalty.

Punter Mason Fletcher is by far the MVP of the #CottonBowl. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/dOzeVtIyKh

— The Whole Delivery (@TWDTV1) December 31, 2021

The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Moody pushed Alabama back to their six-yard line, which is where they began their possession. They still went 94 yards for a touchdown and took a 17-3 lead before halftime.

Bama put up 302 yards in the first half, while Cincinnati only had 76.