Safety Dance! It Was A "Safety Saturday" In College Football, But 2-Pointer Couldn't Help James Madison In OT Loss To App. State

Never was the 1982 hit "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats playing more in college football, perhaps, than over a short time Saturday afternoon in three games.

James Madison took a 5-3 lead on a safety in its game against Appalachian State, which went on to win 26-23 in overtime. The Dukes lost for the first time all season to fall to 10-1. Appalachian State improved to 7-2.

Meanwhile, Iowa broke out to a 2-0 lead in its game against Illinois. And that deuce ended up being the difference in a 15-13 win for the Hawkeyes (9-2).

And No. 3 Michigan scored two safeties in the same game for the first time in two decades in its 31-24 victory at Maryland to go to 11-0 on the season.

James Madison defensive lineman Jamree Kromah tackled Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar four yards deep in the end zone for the Dukes' safety with 6:56 left in the second quarter.

After falling behind 23-20 in overtime, App. State wide receiver Kaedin Robinson scored on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Aguilar for the win on a play that officials reviewed. Robinson fumbled, and James Madison recovered for what could have been a touchback and James Madison win. Officials stuck with the original call of a TD, however. And the game ended.

Even the James Madison radio crew upon seeing replays said that Robinson crossed the goal line with the ball before fumbling.

Baseball Scores At James Madison-App State, Iowa-Illinois

Iowa defensive end Joe Evans tackled Illinois quarterback Joe Paddock five yards deep in the end zone for a safety and the 2-0 lead with 11:24 to play in the first quarter.

Michigan took a 16-3 lead late in the first half when it blocked a Maryland punt out of the end zone for the two-pointer - the old-fashioned way. And the Wolverines make it 31-24 with 3:38 left on another team safety on their way to their 1,000th all-time victory.

You can dance, if you want to ... as the song says.

Written by
Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.