The Match-Up: Week two of the Patriot League ledger brings Bucknell to Fisher Stadium. The Leopards are coming off a four-point loss in their Patriot League opener in week seven while the Bison had a 49-point setback against nationally-ranked Towson.

Big Run: Freshman Jaden Sutton had the longest run of his brief career on Saturday at Georgetown. Sutton slid off tackle, made one player miss in the backfield and then out-ran a would-be tackler for an 86-yard touchdown. It was the Leopards' longest play from scrimmage this season and the first time since 2014 that a Lafayette player had a rush of 70-plus yards.

Red-Zone Opportunities: Lafayette has made the most of its red-zone chances, turning 13-of-15 chances into points(10 touchdowns and 3 field goals).

Last Time Out: A last-minute comeback drive by the Leopard offense came up short as time expired deep inside the Georgetown half. The Hoyas scored twice on a pair of short passes in the first half and held on for a 14-10 final at Cooper Field.

Limiting The Hoyas: In the Leopards' Patriot League opener vs. Georgetown, Lafayette limited Georgetown to 264 yards of total offense (104 rushing, 160 passing). The defensive effort was the best this season (in terms of total yardage allowed) by 109 yards.   

100-Plus: Jaden Sutton's 100-yard rushing game at Georgetown was the first of his career and second of the season for a Leopard running back. Fellow freshman Keegan Shoemaker ran for 124 yards against Sacred Heart. Prior to Sutton, the last running backs to gain 100 yards in a game were Selwyn Simpson (112) and C.J. Amill '18 (133) at Fordham on Oct. 27, 2018.  

A Passing Fancy: Freshman QB Keegan Shoemaker has completed 61 percent of his passes in 2019, a mark that ranks him third in the Patriot League and 38th in the nation. His single-season mark thus far also ranks him 11th all-time at Lafayette. Shoemaker is first in the conference (36th in NCAA) in completions per game (18.9) and passing yards per game (226.7) and is second in passing efficiency (126.1), passing TD's (8) and passing yards (1,587). He also ranks first in the Patriot League in total offense (246.7). 

Big Play Pearson: Senior WR Nick Pearson is the Leopards' go-to player for what John Garrett calls "explosive" plays. The senior wide receiver accounts for five of the Leopards' longest 10 plays this season with receptions of 80, 47, 45, 44 and 41 yards. His 80-yard TD catch vs. Monmouth is the Leopards' second-longest play from scrimmage this season.

Common Opponents: Outside of Patriot League foes, Lafayette and Bucknell share Sacred Heart and Princeton as common opponents. Lafayette lost to Sacred Heart 56-40 while Bucknell dropped a 30-10 decision. Against Princeton, the Leopards were handed a 28-3 final and Bucknell lost 56-23.

In the Classroom: Lafayette athletic teams ranked eighth in the nation in the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate. Lafayette boasted a 98 percent GSR overall for its 18 sports measured and a total of 15 programs registered a GSR of 100 percent. Lafayette football earned a ranking of 97, tied for 10-best in the nation and first in the Patriot League, tied with Holy Cross and Georgetown and ahead of Bucknell (91), Colgate (91), Fordham (84) and Lehigh (78).  

Just a Football Player: When defensive coordinator Manny Rojas describes soph. LB Billy Shaeffer he says "he's just a football player" — the ultimate compliment from Rojas who was a college linebacker, himself. Shaeffer has started six games, averaging 6.3 tackles per game in just his second season College Hill.

Offense On the Upswing: The numbers show that the Lafayette offense is significantly improved in 2019. The Leopards are averaging 17.4 points, 245 passing yards and 102 rushing yards per game in 2019. Through seven games in 2019, Lafayette was averaging 13.1 points, 209 passing yards and 63 rushing yards per game.  

Fresh Faces On the Two-Deep: Entering week eight, there are 11 freshmen on the two-deep. Alex Barshaba started the first three games at left guard while Keegan Shoemaker has started the last six at QB. Nathan Slater (LT/LG) has started the last five games and Marco Olivas (LB) was among the starting 11 vs. Sacred Heart when Lafayette started five freshmen. Lafayette played 15 freshmen at William & Mary, 16 vs. Monmouth and Sacred Heart, 14 at Albany, 12 vs. Penn, 15 vs. Princeton and 16 vs. Georgetown.     
    The Patriot League does not allow redshirt seasons for reasons other than injury, so all freshmen are first-year collegiate players. In 2018, 12 freshmen made the depth chart in the three phases, and four of them (Ian Grayson, DE Malik Hamm, OL Joe Grundhoffer and FS Romeo Wykle) started at least one game.

The Opponent: The Bison, who enter week eight at 1-6, 1-1, are coming off a 56-7 loss to No. 18 Towson. In conference clips, Bucknell lost to Holy Cross, 21-14, and beat reigning league champ Colgate, 32-14. 
    Junior QB Logan Bitikofer has completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 1,005 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. Senior Chad Freshnock and sophomore Jared Cooper have split the carries in the backfield, each averaging 3.4 yards per carry with a touchdown apiece.
    On the Bison defense, junior S Conner Romango and junior LB Rick Mottram have 53 tackles apiece. Junior LB Simeon Page have five sacks and 6.5 TFL under his belt. 
    The team captain is All-American punter Alex Pechin who is a fifth-year senior. He is averaging nearly 50 yards per attempt with 20 punts landed inside the opponent's 20-yard line.  
    Bucknell is coached by Dave Cecchini (Lehigh '95) who is in his first season at the school after spending five seasons as the head coach at Valparaiso.