Oct. 6, 2015
THE OPENING KICK
MATCH-UP: Lafayette (1-4, 0-1) gets back on the road on Saturday, taking the trip down I-95 to Washington, D.C. to face Georgetown (2-3) in the Hoyas' conference opener. Both teams are coming off losses to top 25 opponents, with Georgetown falling 35-0 to No. 24/25 Harvard (Lafayette's opponent in week 7) and Lafayette losing to No. 13/15 Fordham, 35-7.
LAST TIME OUT: Lafayette took advantage of a fumble on the opening kickoff and DeSean Brown ran it in for six 15 seconds into the contest, but that was all of the offense the Leopards mustered in a 35-7 defeat at the hands of No. 13/15 Fordham on Saturday night at Fisher Stadium. Fordham tailback Chase Edmonds had 30 carries for 234 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams while QB Kevin Anderson threw for two more TD's. The Leopards had two field goal attempts blocked in the game.
SPREADING IT AROUND: The Lafayette quarterbacks have spread the ball around this season to 14 receivers. In the last outing, Drew Reed and Blake Searfoss completed passes to eight different receivers. Lafayette connected with nine different players in two games (William & Mary and Princeton), eight twice (Delaware and Fordham) and six pass catchers at Wagner.
THE SERIES: Lafayette leads the all-time series 12-6, with the teams having split the last four meetings. Of the last five meetings, four have been decided by four points or less with the Leopards' 45-27 win in 2013 the only outlier. The teams first met Oct. 25, 1902 in the first of five straight meetings in Washington, D.C. Lafayette is 10-4 vs. Georgetown in Patriot League play.
BRYANT IN THE NATION: Sophomore LB Brandon Bryant is first in the nation in solo tackles, making 7.6 solo stops per outing. He ranks sixth in the nation in total tackles (12.6 tpg) and is coming off a 16-tackle effort vs. Fordham, including 10 solo efforts. He made a career-high 18 stops at Delaware and garnered Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors, seven days removed from 13 tackles vs. William & Mary.
LIMITING PENALTIES: The Leopards have limited penalties in the early going, ranking fourth in the nation in fewest penalties per game (3.80) and fewest penalty yards per game (30).
PARHAM BACK AT CORNER: After missing the first four games of the season, sophomore Phillip Parham returned to the starting cornerback spot he pushed his way into during his rookie season. Lafayette's defensive rookie of the year in 2014, Parham had a stellar training camp before suffering a hamstring injury. He played all but a handful of plays against Fordham.
ON THIS DATE: Lafayette is 7-7-2 all-time on Oct. 10.
HOUSEKEEPING: Senior Matt Anderson's move to the offensive line from the defensive line has been accompanied by a number change from 98 to 70. Andrew Chuma, who had moved from linebacker to fullback, is back on the defensive side of the ball on the defensive line. Classmate Trent Crossan has moved from tailback to defensive back.
RED ZONE: The red zone has proved problematic for the Leopards, who have scored seven times in 16 attempts this season. Lafayette was 4-of-4 on offense at Wagner to break a disappointing trend, but just 1-of-5 vs. Fordham. Defensively, Lafayette has allowed opponents to score on 17-of-18 attempts, with 10 of those scores touchdowns.
REED MOVING UP: With 3,702 career passing yards, junior QB Drew Reed needs just four yards to eclipse Andrew Shoop '13 (3,705) for eighth place in the Lafayette record books. He passed Shoop (299) for career completions (323) in the Wagner game.
Reed is also the school record holder for single-season (72.5% in 2013) and career completion percentage (66.7%).
ABOUT GEORGETOWN: Georgetown is coming off a 3-8 campaign in 2014 when the Hoyas finished 1-5 and in seventh place in Patriot League play. Georgetown's 2015 club is 2-3 after a road loss to Harvard Oct. 2. Georgetown's two wins on the season have come against Marist (34-7) and Columbia (24-16).
• The Hoyas return eight starters on offense and six starters on defense after losing three offensive and five defensive starters to graduation. Georgetown welcomes back 66 letterwinners.
• Georgetown's offense features seniors QB Kyle Nolan, and TB Jo'el Kimpela. Nolan has completed 102-of-180 for 979 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions in 2015 while throwing for 1,763 yards in 11 starts in 2014. Kimpela has rushed for 224 yards in 2015, recording his only touchdown of the year in a winning effort against Marist. In last season's contest versus Lafayette, Kimpela rushed for a career-high 159 yards with a touchdown on 20 rushes.
• Senior LB Matthew Satchell leads the Georgetown defense with 50 tackles, tallying one sack with five tackles for loss. Satchell is the team's top returning tackler, making 92 stops last season.
• Georgetown is coached by Rob Sgarlata (Georgetown '94) who is in his second season while holding a 5-11 record.
