The Match-Up: Lafayette is looking to extend its two-game win streak when the Leopards welcome Holy Cross on Saturday in a 12:30 p.m. kickoff. The Lafayette Sports Network broadcast can be seen on RCN-4 and WBPH-60 and on GoLeopards.com

Run...Run...Run: On a day that wasn't conducive to passing, Lafayette featured its running game...58 times to be exact (the most runs since 63 on Sept. 6, 2008). Senior RB CJ Amill (25-133) and sophomore RB Selwyn Simpson (12-112) each carried for 100-plus yards, nearly two years to the day of the last time a Leopard ballcarrier broke the century mark. Simpson finished with scores of one and 38 yards and also added a 51-yard carry (Lafayette's longest play from scrimmage in 2018), while Amill's 31-yard touchdown was his longest run of the day. It was the first time since Nov. 3, 2012 that two Lafayette backs (Ross Scheuerman 142, Vaughn Hebron 119) managed 100 yards or more in the same game. 

Run A Little More: Lafayette churned out a season-best 280 rushing yards, surpassing its previous game-high of 138 (Bucknell) in the first half at Fordham. It was the most rushing yards since the Leopards' 309 yards (304 by Ross Scheuerman) over Lehigh on Nov. 22, 2014 in Yankee Stadium.

A Passing Fancy: The Leopards' offense attempted nine passes (completing four) at Fordham, the fewest passing attempts since Sept. 2, 2006 (8 vs. Sacred Heart). 

Rookie of the Week: Freshman Malik Hamm is the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Week following a dominating performance at Fordham. Hamm rang up three sacks for a loss of 26 yards. The last player to register three sacks in a game also wore No. 99. Robin Cepeda had three vs. Lehigh on Nov. 19, 2016. A starter in six games, Hamm leads the Patriot League with 7.5 sacks (13th in the nation) and is second in tackles for loss at 13.0 (sixth in the nation). He has 39 tackles on the season, two forced fumbles and one fumble return of 22 yards. 

Stingy Second Half: Lafayette's defense held Fordham to minus-20 rushing yards and shut out the Rams in the second half, a week after they scored 41 points vs. Bryant. It was the second time this season that Luke Thompson's defense pitched a second-half shutout, also managing it against Georgetown. The half was highlighted by fourth-quarter interceptions from Eric Mitchell and Keith Earle. 

Running the Ball + Stopping the Run = W's: Lafayette's defense held Bucknell to minus-two (-2) rushing yards, piling up 47 negative yards on six tackles for loss. By contrast, the Leopard offense saw six ball carriers combining to run for 138 yards.
    Against Fordham, Lafayette rushed for a season-high 280 yards and limited Bucknell to minus-20 (-20) on the ground thanks to 7.0 tackles for a loss of 39 yards. 

Hamm and Rice: Freshman DE Malik Hamm is on the watch list for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award. The award, named after the Hall of Fame wide receiver, has been presented to the top FCS freshman since 2011. Hamm earned his first collegiate start at Delaware, registering five tackles with three tackles for a loss and a sack in his breakout game. He sacked the Delaware QB, stripped him of the ball, recovered the fumble and ran it back for 22 yards.

Time Of Possession: In the first four games of 2018, Lafayette opponents held time of possession differentials of 7, 17, 4 and 15 minutes, while in the last four games Lafayette has have advantages of 4, 4, 11 and 17 minutes.

On the Line: The offensive line under assistant coach Gordie Sammis leads the Patriot League in sacks allowed (1.38 per game) and tackles for loss allowed (5.9 per game). The group is headed by senior captain Kevin Zataveski from his center position. 

Kick-off Returns: Lafayette is ranked 21st nationally and first in the Patriot League for kick-off returns, averaging 24.3 yards per try. J.J. Younger averages 27.7 yards per return to lead the Patriot League (10th in the nation), while CJ Amill checks in at 21.8 yards per return and was an All-Patriot League First-Team selection at return specialist in 2017 when he racked up 558 kick return yards (the eighth most in a season in Lafayette history). 

Moving Up: With 376 career completions, soph. QB Sean O'Malley needs 10 more to take over eighth place in school history currently occupied by Shawn McHale '97 (386 from 1994-96). In terms of career passing yards, O'Malley has 3,314, ranking 10th all-time at Lafayette. He needs 391 yards to take over ninth place held by Andrew Shoop '13 (3,705 in 2010-12).

The Opponent: Holy Cross comes into Saturday's matchup fresh off a 56-0 beat down of Lehigh in Worcester, Mass. It was the second win for the Crusaders who also own a victory over Yale with losses coming to Colgate (24-17), Dartmouth, Bucknell (19-16), New Hampshire and Harvard. 
    Against Lehigh, junior RB Domenic Cozier piled up 208 rushing yards with a TD to go along with 118 and a TD from classmate Miles Alexander. Senior QB Geoff Wade is completing 61 percent of his passes (100-165) with 11 touchdowns to seven interceptions. His favorite targets are seniors Martin Dorsey (31-385, 5 TD) and Blaise Bell (25-236).
     Senior LB Ryan Brady leads the Patriot League with 88 tackles and has managed 11 TFL. 
    The Crusaders are coached by Bob Chesney (Dickinson '00) who is in his first season at Holy Cross after coaching five seasons at Assumption College in Worcester, Mass. and three seasons at Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I.