Oct. 22, 2008

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THE MATCH-UP: The Leopards are 5-1 and are coming off their biggest win of the season after knocking off then-No. 14 Liberty on Oct. 18. This weekend marks a return to Patriot League play and the first of five straight conference games. That span begins with reigning Patriot League champion Fordham (3-3, 0-2) and continues with two more league road games, a three-game swing that is unheard of in most conferences.

BACK IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: By virtue of its 35-21 win at then-No. 14 Liberty, Lafayette jumped into the top 25 in one of the two national polls. The Leopards are ranked No. 24 by The Sports Network and essentially ranked No. 26 in the FCS coaches poll, as the are receiving the most votes (35) of those teams not in the top 25. The Leopards have now been ranked in the top 25 for five straight years (2004-08). Their highest ranking came in 2004 when they finished No. 19 in both polls. Last season, Lafayette's top ranking was No. 22 in The Sports Network poll, a position it held for two weeks. The team occupied the same No. 22 spot for one week in 2006 and finished the 2005 campaign ranked 20th by ESPN/USA Today and 21st by The Sports Network.

WIN OVER A TOP 25: Lafayette's triumph over No. 14 Liberty was the team's first win over a top-25 opponent since Lafayette beat No. 12 Lehigh 23-19 on Nov. 19, 2005. The victory also snapped the nation's longest winning streak (11) and was head coach Frank Tavani's 50th career coaching victory.

ROMANS MAKES IT THREE IN A ROW...AND ADDS ANOTHER AWARD: Senior LB Andy Romans was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week on Monday for the third week in a row. He managed to top his past two nods by also earning the conference's Special Teams Player of the Week. Romans merited both honors after putting together an outstanding performance at No. 14 Liberty. He blocked a punt that he returned 15 yards for a touchdown, recorded a 21-yard run on a fake punt for a first down late in the fourth quarter and tallied 12 tackles and one tackle for a loss to lead the Leopards to a win over a ranked opponent for the first time since the end of the 2005 season. Lafayette's defense held Liberty more than 14 points below its scoring average. The blocked punt was his first of Romans' career. The Allendale, N.J. native boasts a Patriot League best 66 tackles, which is tied for 11th in the nation. PICKS FOR 26: Strong safety Nigel Bryant picked off his first pass of the season at Liberty. The interception, which quelled any Liberty designs on a comeback, was the fourth of his career.

IN THE AIR: Junior QB Rob Curley has been the starting quarterback since day one of training camp. For the season, he is 88-of-154 for 996 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. Curley has already been named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week once this season, going 14-for-24 for 175 yards with two rushing TD's vs. Penn (9/15). He had one of his best performances of the season at Liberty where he was 18-for-32 for 176 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He was especially crisp in the first half when he was 17-for-26 for 167 yards. Curley was the team's starting QB for the final four games of 2007. He completed 62 percent of his passes (77-124), threw seven touchdowns, ran for two scores and was picked off twice. He was named the MVP of the 143rd meeting of Lafayette-Lehigh after leading the game-winning drive.

Curley Game By Game Opponent Att-Comp. Passing Yds. Passing TD Rushing TD INT at Marist 8-11 125 1 1 0 GEORGETOWN 14-24 175 0 2 0 PENN 12-22 163 3 0 1 HARVARD 23-39 220 1 0 2 at Columbia 13-26 150 0 0 0 at 14 Liberty 18-32 176 1 0 0 AVERAGES 88-154 996 6 3 3

PATRIOT GAMES: Lafayette has played just one Patriot League opponent, a 24-6 win over Georgetown on Sept. 13. The case is the same for four other Patriot League squads who all stand at 1-0. Fordham, on the other hand, has played two conference games, both losses, against two of the upper tier teams in the league, Colgate (31-24) on Sept. 27 and Lehigh (45-24) on Oct. 11.

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: Lafayette put up 35 points at Liberty, its highest scoring output of the season. The Leopards scored 28 points in the first half, equalling their previous season-high for a game (Marist).

SPARKLING START: Lafayette is off to a 5-1 start for the first time since 2005, rolling up wins over Marist, Georgetown, Penn, Columbia and No. 14 Liberty. It marks the second time in head coach Frank Tavani's tenure that Lafayette has reached the 5-1 mark. The last time Lafayette started 6-1 was 1981 under Tavani's predecessor Bill Russo. Priot to that, the last time Lafayette was 6-1 was 1944.

LEOPARDS PACK THEIR BAGS: Lafayette is in the midst of a five-game road swing for the first time since 1996. In that season, Lafayette played Harvard, Columbia, Colgate and Army while a game with Fordham scheduled between the Harvard and Columbia games was canceled due to the untimely death of a Fordham player in warmups for the game. The last and only time Lafayette played five in a row on the road was 1986 in a season that included trips to Davidson, Bucknell, Colgate, Penn and Army. The Leopards were 2-3 in that span. This season, Lafayette will not return to College Hill until Nov. 15, traveling to Columbia (13-3 W), Liberty (35-21 W), Fordham, Colgate and Bucknell in the meantime.

DEFENSE IS SECOND IN THE NATION: Lafayette dropped one spot to second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 13.3 points per game through six contests. Prairie View ranks first. The Leopards are also ranked 12th in the FCS in total defense (293.0 ypg) and have been ranked as high as first. The team is 12th in rushing defense (85.8 ypg) and 10th in pass efficiency defense (104.3 ypg).

IN THE RED ZONE: Lafayette is first in the nation in red zone defense. The Leopards' opponents have scored on nine of 17 attempts in the red zone (53%).

THE SERIES VS. FORDHAM: Lafayette holds a commanding lead in the all-time series with Fordham. The Leopards are 18-7-1 in a series that dates back to the first meeting on Oct. 17, 1903. Fordham won last season's matchup, snapping a three-game winning streak for the Leopards.

LAFAYETTE vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Leopards have played 338 games all-time against the six fellow members of the Patriot League, and are 174-148-16 (.538) in those contests. Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, Lafayette is 69-50-1 (.579) vs. member schools and has won league titles in 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Lafayette vs. the Patriot League: Bucknell: 47-32-6 Fordham: 18-7-1 Holy Cross: 14-8-0 Colgate: 10-37-4 Georgetown: 9-3-0 Lehigh: 76-62-5

BOOM, COON, ZOOM: "Boom-Coon-Zoom" is how QB Rob Curley describes the Leopards' corps of tailbacks. "Boom" is Maurice White who blasted his way to 212 yards in the season opener at Marist and followed up with 106 yards vs. Georgetown, 77 vs. Penn and 27 at Columbia. He is currently sidelined with an injury sustained in the Columbia game. "Coon" is Tyrell Coon, a junior who is second on the depth chart. He started two games in 2007, including the Lehigh game when he carried 29 times for 95 yards. Coon carried the ball 17 times for 96 yards and a touchdown vs. Georgetown. He left the Penn game with injury after carrying six times for 32 yards and missed the Harvard game with a leg bruise. He made his return at Columbia, running for 57 yards on 16 carries. "Zoom" is junior DeAndre' Morrow, who ran for 245 yards last season and is also a receiving threat who managed 225 all-purpose yards vs. Columbia. Morrow ran for 82 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown in Lafayette's win at Columbia. At Liberty, he scored two more touchdowns and garnered 38 yards before leaving with injury. Lafayette used all three members against Columbia, as White and Coon left with injuries. The Leopards employed six different tailbacks in the starting spot in 2007 with White starting four games, graduated seniors Anthony D'Urso and Brandon Mitchell each starting one, Morrow and Coon two apiece and Matt Ferber one.

ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Patriot League, which was founded on the principles of admitting athletes who are academically representative of their class, is in its second decade. The Patriot League began as a successful Division I-AA football conference in 1986. Full League members include American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy. Associate members include Fordham (football) and Georgetown (football). While the league was founded with a principle of allowing need-based financial aid only, that was was expanded in 2000-01 to allow merit-based aid (scholarships) in all sports except football. That policy remains today. Additionally, in a departure from most conferences in the country, redshirt seasons are only permitted following injury and must be approved by conference members.

ELECTION DAY COVERAGE FOR THE LEOPARDS: On Nov. 4, the weekly media luncheon won't be the only activity in which Lafayette football will be involved.Sophomore DE Jeff Katz and junior FB Jeff Cumming will both be participating in a student-run live election broadcast. Katz will serve as an anchor to the program, which is being produced as part of a Policy Studies class taught by Mark Crain. The event itself will take place from 9-11 p.m. at various sets located throughout Skillman Library. Outside on the Quad, a tent will be set up to host an election night party. In a related note, the election day football media luncheon will not be held in Pfenning Alumni Center as it is being used as a polling place. The luncheon will be moved to the second floor of Kirby Sposrts Center.

STANDING OUT IN THE CLASSROOM: Under head coach Frank Tavani, Lafayette football players have excelled as student-athletes. Twenty-three have earned CoSIDA Academic All-District selections. In 2007, Lafayette had 21 student-athletes qualify for the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll for which they must achieve a minimum of a 3.2 GPA and earn a varsity letter. In the spring semester, 51 members of the team achieved a 3.0 or better GPA, including seven who qualified for the Dean's List. Overall, the team sported a 2.99 GPA, the highest in the program's history since the Academic Resource Center began charting team GPA's in 1992.

ADAIR ASCENDING ALL-TIME LISTS: Senior WR Shaun Adair continues to write his name in the Lafayette recordbooks. Adair had five catches for 76 yards at Liberty. He remains in fifth place on the career receiving yards list with 1,775 yards, recently surpassing Jamal Jordan '93 (1,634), Quincy Miller '97 (1,673) and Dave Baird '91 (1,681) all in the Harvard game. Adair is in sole possession of sixth place for career receptions with 122, needing 14 more to move into fifth place with Frank Corbo '85. Check page six for complete lists.

THE PUNTER: Sophomore Tom Kondash has settled into his role as the team's punter. Kondash has punted 31 times for an average of 36.3 yards. Thirteen punts have ended up inside the 20 and four punts have been 50 or more yards. Against Harvard, arguably his best punting day, Kondash punted five times for 175 yards and pinned Harvard's offense inside the 20 on four of the attempts. His best punt of the day was a 53-yard effort that was downed on the one-yard line. He also had another punt of 49 yards. Kondash's other punts inside the 20 ended at the 19, 16 and 15-yard lines. At Liberty, Kondash punted five times for 193 yards (38.6 yards per kick) and landed two punts inside the 20. He also managed a career-long 59-yard punt. THE PUNTER'S ASSISTANT: Sophomore PK Davis Rodriguez punted twice at Liberty, as head coach Frank Tavani elected to used Rodriguez's low line drive efforts to keep his punts under the wind.

THE GROUND GAME: The Lafayette running attack is ranked 33rd in the nation, averaging 170 yards per game. Junior running back Maurice White is 24th in the nation, averaging 93.8 yards per game. White rushed for a career-high 212 yards on 29 carries at Marist, followed that with 116 yards on 18 carries vs. Georgetown and then churned out 77 yards on 17 carries vs. Penn. Against Harvard, White had 40 yards through the first half before the Leopards went primarily to the passing game. He finished with 10 carries for 47 yards. At Columbia, White had four carries for 27 yards before leaving with injury. He also missed the Liberty game.

PICKING THEM OFF: Sophomore linebacker Neil Goldsmith opened the season with an interception in each of the first three games. He has been ranked in the top 10 for much of the season, but has missed the last two games due to injury. He is expected to play vs. Fordham.

THE DEFENSIVE ENDS: Seniors Jason Mills and Luke Schade help anchor the defensive line from the end position. Mills, who is in his first season as a starter, is fourth on the team in tackles with 27, and has four sacks in the last three games and a total of eight tackles for loss this season. Schade has five tackles for loss and two and a half sacks on the season.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES: The Lafayette defense surrendered its first first-quarter score of the season against Harvard and went on to give up 24 points in the opening half. The Harvard offense had 236 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, but the Lafayette defense held Harvard to 183 yards and only a field goal in the second half. Here is what the Lafayette defense has done thus far in 2008.

2008 Game By Game Defensive ProductionOpponent    Rushing Yds.    Passing Yds.    Total Yds.  Pointsat Marist   37  58  95  6Georgetown  70  206 276 6Penn    59  233 292 17Harvard 188 231 419 27at Columbia 30  171 201 3at Liberty  131 344 475 21AVERAGES    85.8    207.2   293.0   13.3

ROMANS CAN PLAY A LITTLE BIT: Senior linebacker Andy Romans is the Leopards' most highly-decorated returner. Romans was the 2007 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and is the conference's pick to repeat. He has also secured preseason All-America honors from The Sports Network and College Sporting News.

PEOPLE ARE WATCHING: Senior Andy Romans, a senior History major, has been named to the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List. The award is given out to the top defensive player in the nation at the FCS level. The list will be revised several times throughout the season. Currently there are 14 linebackers on the list. Lafayette's Maurice Bennett '06 finished eighth in the voting for the national award in 2005.

THE OVERLOOKED LB?: Coming into the season, it was easy to see how junior linebacker Mark Leggiero could be overlooked despite an All-Patriot League Second-Team selection in 2007. He lines up a couple of steps away from Andy Romans, the 2007 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. This year, with Romans drawing a lot of the offenses' attention, Leggiero's production has increased. He is second on the team (behind Romans) with 55 tackles and 10.0 tackles for loss and has forced a fumble. In 2007, Leggiero started all 11 games and finished second on the team in tackles (77) and tackles for loss (6.5), trailing Romans in both categories. Leggiero finished fifth in the Patriot League in total tackles last season. In 2006, he was the program's rookie of the year, playing in all 12 games on special teams and as the top backup at linebacker.

A DUAL THREAT: Against Harvard, junior tailback Maurice White showed that he can be threat on the receiving end of things. White made six catches to go along with 20 carries on the afternoon. He is second on the team in receptions and is the team's leading rusher with 80 carries for 469 yards.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Seniors Marvin Clecidor and Nigel Bryant are the leaders of the defensive backfield. Clecidor is a returning All-Patriot League Second-Team selection at cornerback. Against Penn, Clecidor registered his first interception of the season. Clecidor led the team and was second in the Patriot League in passes defended in 2007 and also finished with two interceptions. Bryant started every game at strong safety and led the team with three interceptions in 2007. This season, he missed the Columbia game due to injury after starting the first five. Juniors Carlos Lowe and Eric McGovern started the season at cornerback and free safety, respectively. McGovern, who is one of the hardest hitters in the defensive backfield, led the team with 11 tackles against Penn and is third on the team in tackles (38).

ON THE LINE: The Leopards return four linemen who started six or more games in 2007. Junior Ryan Hart-Predmore, who played right guard last season, is now at left tackle to anchor the offensive line. Junior Brian Wycinowski holds down the left guard spot. Junior Mike Wojcik is snapping the ball to Rob Curley after starting seven games last year. A pair of seniors with starting experience, Leo Plenski and D.J. Brown, start at right tackle and guard, respectively. The Leopards were forced to shuffle things against Penn when Wojcik went down with injury. Brown slid over to center and sophomore Michael Butler took Brown's spot. Wojcik has been back in the starting lineup ever since.

IN THE NFL RANKS: Blake Costanzo '06 is currently on the Buffalo Bills' 53- man roster. Costanzo, who now wears No. 54, played three games with the Bills last season and made seven tackles in return coverage assignments. The Franklin Hills, N.J. native was released by the Bills on Aug. 30, 2008, but was re-signed on Sept. 5 and is playing primarily on special teams.

PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was picked fourth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll as selected by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors. In 2007, Lafayette was selected to finish first, but ended second. The last time the preseason pick won the title outright was 2001 (Lehigh).

200+ RUSHING GAMES: When Maurice White ran for 212 yards in the season opener vs. Marist, it was the first time in nearly six seasons that a Lafayette ballcarrier eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark in a single game. For White, it was the first time in his career (high school or college) that he managed the feat and it placed him in some elite company. Since 1990, there have been nine 200-yard performances for the Leopards, six of which were the work of Maroon Club Hall of Fame honoree Erik Marsh '95.

DATE    RUSHER  OPPONENT    CARRIES-YARDS   W/L09/09/08    Maurice White at Marist   29-212  W11/16/02    Joe McCourt Holy Cross  38-203  W11/19/94    Erik Marsh  Lehigh  34-214  W11/20/93    Erik Marsh  at Lehigh   25-249  L11/06/93    Erik Marsh  at Holy Cross   36-221  W11/21/92    Erik Marsh  Lehigh  46-251  W10/31/92    Erik Marsh  at Colgate  41-225  W11/16/91    Erik Marsh  Colgate 20-200  W10/19/91    John Kahn   Columbia    41-224  W

ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE RETURNERS: Lafayette placed 11 players on the All-Patriot League first and second teams in 2007. Six of them return in 2008 season led by 2007 Defensive Player of the Year, Andy Romans, junior LB Mark Leggiero and senior CB Marvin Clecidor. On the offense, there are also three returning All-Patriot League selections led by senior co-captain and fullback Joe Russo, senior TE Michael Conte and senior WR Shaun Adair.

ONE PLAY AWAY...THE BACKUP QB: Sophomore Marc Qulling is the backup quarterback. He played the last series at Marist when the Leopards ran out the clock on a 28-6 victory. He also stepped in for one series against Penn when Curley left with injury. Curley returned for the next series. Freshman Ryan O'Neil is the likely No. 3.

JOE FULLBACK: Senior Joe Russo is easily the most experienced fullback in the Patriot League. The Utica, N.Y. native is in his third season as a starter at the position where his primary responsibilities are as a lead blocker and pass protector. Running the ball has also been a strength as he averaged 4.8 yards per carry (26-126) with a touchdown in 2007 while also catching 12 passes, including two scores. As a sophomore, Russo averaged 5.0 yards per carry (27-134) with five touchdowns in 2006 and also caught 14 passes for 76 yards. This season, Russo is averaging 3.9 yards per carry, running with the ball 20 times for 78 yards. He also has six catches for 58 yards and one touchdown.

THE KICKER(S): Sophomore Davis Rodriguez is reprising his role as the team's placekicker. Rodriguez was 8-for-13 in 2007, including a career long of 41 yards. Rodriguez converted 31-of-33 PATs and was the team's leading scorer with 55 points. The St. Petersburg, Fla. native received Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week honors twice in 2007 and kicked the game-winning field goal at Penn (9/15). At Marist, Rodriguez converted all four PAT's in a driving rainstorm, and against Georgetown he made a 23-yard field goal and was 3-for-3 on PATs. Against Penn, Rodriguez converted all three PATs and added a 22-yard field goal. Versus Harvard, Rodriguez was 2-for-2, tying a career long with a 41-yard field goal while adding a 23-yarder. At Columbia, Rodriguez was successful on three field goal attempts, including a career-long of 46. He also added in field goals of 42 and 25 yards. Junior Chris Cosgrove is handling the kickoff duties as he did for much of 2007. Cosgrove has kicked off 29 times for an average net kick of 41.5 yards with three touchbacks.

ADAIR SET TO MAKE HIS RETURN: Senior Shaun Adair finished seventh in the nation in punt returns last season. He averaged 14.0 yards per punt return and was ranked first in the conference in that statistical category. Against Marist in 2007, Adair ran back a punt 78 yards for his first career punt return for touchdown (and the longest punt return of his career). This season, Adair ripped off a 63-yard return at Liberty. Adair also returns kicks for the Leopards, averaging 18.4 yards per return in 2007 down from the previous two seasons when he chugged away for 23.8 yards per kick as a freshman and a 25.5 as a sophomore. For his career, Adair averages 21.8 yards per return. He returned a 90-yard kick for touchdown vs. Georgetown in 2006. This season, he has returned 13 kicks for 227 yards for an average of 17.9 yards.

SCORPIO SUCCESS: The Leopards were a perfect 3-0 in the month of November in 2007, continuing their record of closing the season on a strong note. Excluding postseason games, Lafayette holds a 10-2 record in November over the past four seasons with both losses coming to Colgate: 2004: 2-1 2005: 2-1 2006: 3-0 2007: 3-0

ABOUT THE 2007 DEFENSE: Lafayette boasted the No. 1 ranked defense in the nation in 2007. The Leopards, under the direction of defensive coordinator John Loose, allowed just 260.1 yards of total offense per game (first in the nation), 84.9 yards on the ground (fourth in the nation), 16.9 points per game (eighth in the nation) and a pass efficiency rating of 108.3 (15th in the nation). Linebacker Andy Romans ranked 25th in the nation in tackles in 2007 with 10.3 per game.

                    2007 Game By GameOpponent    Rushing Yds.    Passing Yds.    Total Yds.  PointsMarist  -14 100 86  10at Georgetown   74  131 205 7at Penn 103 121 224 7Princeton   166 190 356 20Columbia    -13 193 180 0at Harvard  116 174 290 27Fordham 85  323 408 34Colgate 237 174 306 36Bucknell    66  90  156 7at Holy Cross   8   247 255 21at Lehigh   106 138 244 17AVERAGES    84.9    175.2   260.1   16.9

100-YARD CLUB IN 2007: Lafayette had three ballcarriers reach 100 yards in a game last season with Matt Ferber topping the century mark vs. Bucknell (26-102), Maurice White vs. Penn (27-107) and Anthony D'Urso vs. Princeton (14-117). By contrast in 2006, Lafayette had five games in which a running back (Jon Hurt) ran for 100 yards or more.

BACK IN BLACK: The Leopards have never lost in black jerseys and save the color for special occasions. They wore black to beat Lehigh in 2004 and again in 2006 to win Patriot League titles. Fordham was also victim to the black jerseys in 2005. The only other time they've paired black jerseys with black pants was in what has been dubbed "the mud bowl" against Columbia in 2005, a 14-7 victory. The Leopards pulled out the black pants against Holy Cross in week 10 in 2007 and continued their winning streak by beating the Crusaders 31-21.

PATRIOT LEAGUE TITLES: Lafayette won three straight Patriot League titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Lafayette shared the title with Lehigh in 2004 and 2006, and with Colgate in 2005. The championships also led to three straight NCAA Playoff appearances, making Lafayette one of six teams in the country to appear in the 16-team field in three straight years. The Leopards have won six PL championships in the 23-year history of the league (1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005, 2006).

LIGHT IT UP: Lafayette's season-opening win over Marist in 2007 marked the first home night game in 127 seasons of Lafayette football. The historic game was followed by fireworks. Making history at night is not a new feat for Leopard football as Lafayette and Washington and Jefferson played in the first indoor night college football game on Oct. 25, 1930. A crowd of 17,000 witnessed the game at the Atlantic City Auditorium.

THE CAPTAINS: The Leopards elected senior LB Andy Romans and senior FB Joe Russo as their captains for the 2008 season. Romans is a two-time All-Patriot League selection and the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year. Russo, too, is a twice-honored all-league player and is in his third year as a starter.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS: Lafayette has won four of the last seven Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. Brad Maurer '07 won the award in 2006, following linebacker Maurice Bennett '05, Stephen Bono '04 and tight end Stewart Kupfer '02. Maurer was also a three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II selection and was one of 23 Academic All-District selections in Frank Tavani's nine seasons as head coach.

AND WE GO TO...OVERTIME: Lafayette has played five overtime games all-time and is 1-4 in those contests. After winning the first overtime affair in 1995 over Fordham (24-21 on 11/11/95), the Leopards have lost their last four OT games (11/18/95 at Lehigh - 37-30; 10/18/97 at Cornell - 41-34; 10/3/98 at Dartmouth - 13-10; 9/8/01 at Towson - 16-13).

HISTORIC FISHER STADIUM: Fisher Stadium has hosted the College's home football games since 1926. The facility underwent a $23 million transformation that gave Lafayette one of the premier FCS football venues in the nation. New spectator seating was built, including chairback seating in select areas, and additional visitors' seating was added for a maximum capacity of 13,132 fans. A state-of-the-art in-fill synthetic surface, lights, a press box and a 19-by-35 foot video board were installed, and improved restroom and vending areas were also included. The Bourger Varsity Football House includes a locker room, offices and team meeting rooms, as well as sports medicine and strength and conditioning areas. Now in its 81st season, Fisher Stadium has been host to 401 Lafayette football games with the Leopards enjoying an overall record of 239-149-13 for a winning percentage of .612. Of the previous 81 seasons, Lafayette has produced 12 undefeated home seasons with the most recent being the 1992 Patriot League champion Leopards that went a perfect 5-0 - the first undefeated home season for Lafayette at Fisher Stadium since 1970. During the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons, Lafayette won 10 straight home games--tying the Fisher Stadium school record for consecutive wins first set 1926 and 1927 in the first 10 games ever played in the stadium.

LAFAYETTE FOOTBALL, 127 YEARS OF TRADITION: Since fielding its first college football team in the fall of 1882, Lafayette has had a proud, colorful gridiron tradition on the way to a total of 638 victories (638-537-39). Lafayette ranks 33rd among all college football teams in all-time wins entering the 2008 season, posting its first win in 1883 (25-0 vs. Rutgers). Lafayette accumulated 100 victories by 1900, 200 by 1915 and 300 by 1934.

LAFAYETTE ON THE RADIO: The Lafayette Sports Network entered into an agreement with WAEB-AM 790 and WSAN-AM 1470 of Clear Channel Communications and WGPA AM-1100 to broadcast 2008 Lafayette football. The deal places Lafayette on the top two rated AM stations in the Lehigh Valley. See a complete broadcast schedule below. Veteran broadcaster Dick Hammer is in his 42nd season as the Leopards' play-by-play man and will be joined in the booth at home games by Joe Craig, long-time football analyst and former coach, and by Lafayette SID Phil LaBella on the road. RADIO AND TV BROADCAST SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT KICKOFF RADIO TV 9/6 at Marist 6 p.m. WAEB 790* LSN/FSNP 9/13 GEORGETOWN 6 p.m. WAEB 790* LSN/MASN 9/20 OPEN 9/27 PENN 6 p.m. none LSN/FSNP 10/4 HARVARD 1 p.m. WGPA 1100 LSN/MASN 10/11 at Columbia 12:30 p.m. WAEB 790 LSN/MASN 10/18 at Liberty 3:30 p.m. WGPA 1100 LSN/MASN 10/25 at Fordham 1 p.m. WAEB 790 LSN/MASN 11/1 at Colgate 1 p.m. WAEB 790 LSN/MASN 11/8 at Bucknell 1 p.m. WGPA 1100 LSN/MASN 11/15 HOLY CROSS 1 p.m. WGPA 1100 LSN/MASN 11/22 LEHIGH 1 p.m. WGPA/WSAN 1470 LSN/MASN

LSN RCN-4, WBPH 60 FSNP Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh (DIRECTV 628, DISH 428) MASN Mid Atlantic Sports Network (DIRECTV 626, DISH 432) * joined in progress at approximately 6:30 p.m.

LAFAYETTE LEADS NATION IN TELEVISED GAMES IN FCS: The Lafayette Sports Network, a national leader in Division I FCS television coverage, will televise all 11 regular-season Lafayette football games live for the sixth straight year on RCN-4 and WBPH-60 in eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. Now in its 12th year of existence, LSN has become a staple for Leopard fans in the Lehigh Valley and across the country. Nationally, Lafayette Sports Network telecasts will be picked up for the ninth straight year by DIRECTV and DISH Network outlets, available to more than 60 million viewers. Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh (DIRECTV Channel 628, DISH Network Channel 428) will carry two of the Leopards' broadcasts in of September - games at Marist on Sept. 6 and vs. Penn on Sept. 27. The games will air at noon on the Monday following the game on the regional sports network which reaches 2.3 million cable and satellite homes in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland. The remaining nine games - including the Georgetown contest and all of the games in October and November - will be carried by the Mid Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). MASN will broadcast the Liberty game live on Oct. 18. MASN's second live broadcast will be the 144th meeting of college football's most-played rivalry when Lafayette and Lehigh square off at Fisher Stadium. The Leopards are looking to make it five straight over the Mountain Hawks and will kick off at 1 p.m. The other seven games will be shown on the Tuesday following each game at 8 a.m. See a complete broadcast schedule on the previous page. MASN is available regionally and nationally on DIRECTV channel 626 and DISH Network channel 432. The network is the official television home of the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals and Baltimore Ravens and reaches nearly 6 million homes in a seven-state region, from Harrisburg, Pa. to Charlotte, N.C. Gary Laubach will handle all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties for the 12th straight season. John Leone has provided color analysis for all but the first year on the air. In his eighth year as a member of the announcing crew is Dan Mowdy, who is fresh off a gymnastics public address announcing stint at the Beijing Olympics. He will report from the Fisher Stadium sidelines. Mowdy will also be joined by RCN's Scott Barr for select telecasts.

A HISTORY OF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: The Lafayette football program has claimed three national championships -- 1896, 1921 and 1926 -- and recorded five undefeated seasons -- 1896 (11-0-1), 1921 (9-0-0), 1926 (9-0-0), 1937 (8-0-0) and 1940 (9-0-0). Of recent note, the Leopards have won six Patriot League championships -- 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005 and 2006 -- and made their first three postseason appearances in the NCAA FCS Playoffs.

LAFAYETTE'S FOOTBALL INVENTORS: Two primary elements of the game of football -- the helmet and the huddle -- were invented by former members of the Lafayette football program. George "Rose" Barclay from the Class of 1898, one of Lafayette's all-time great running backs, invented the helmet when the "threat of cultivating cauliflower ears" led him to piece three thick leather straps around his head for the 1896 game against Penn. Former Lafayette coach Herb McCracken (1924-35; 59-40-6) devised the first huddle system during the 1924 season after learning the Pennsylvania football team had stolen Lafayette's signals. Lafayette became the first team to huddle before each play and this system was immediately adopted by other teams.

INSIDE LAFAYETTE FOOTBALL: LSN-TV premiered Inside Lafayette Football on Sept. 4 at 5:30 p.m. and it can be seen every Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. throughout the season as well as 30 minutes prior to kickoff of all Lafayette contests. Laubach will sit down with head coach Frank Tavani, as well as select student-athletes to discuss the Lafayette football program.

LAFAYETTE SPORTS NETWORK ALL-ACCESS: Each LSN telecast will be available live through LSN All-Access, which streams the game worldwide to any high-speed internet connection. In all, more than 60 Lafayette athletic contests, as well as Inside Lafayette Football, are scheduled to be broadcasted through Lafayette All-Access this year for a rate of $6.95 per month and $49.95 for the entire year. The CBS College Sports Online XXL package, which includes content from all CBS College Sports Online member schools, is available for $119.95 annually.