The Match-Up: Fresh off a four-point win over Bucknell in conference play, Lafayette remains at home to host Fordham on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Coming off the bye week,
the Rams had an extra week to prepare for the Leopards.

Accurate Afternoon: Freshman QB Keegan Shoemaker turned in an incredibly accurate day against Bucknell. Shoemaker completed 23-of-27 for 207 yards and a touchdown. He completed passes to nine different receivers with six connections apiece going to Nick Pearson and Zadok Scott.

With His Feet, Too: Shoemaker managed 47 rushing yards against Bucknell, his second-highest rushing output of the season. Shoemaker scored the team's first touchdown, running it in from five yards out. 

Reaping the Reward: Shoemaker's performance vs. Bucknell garnered him Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. He was the STATS National Freshman Player of the Week and the Patriot League Offensive and Rookie of the Week on Sept. 16, when he broke out for 515 yards of total offense. Shoemaker also collected PL Rookie of the Week honors on Sept. 9.

Timely Tackles: Freshman LB Marco Olivas turned in one of the best performances of his young career vs. Bucknell. He made the most of his five tackles, recording two sacks for a loss of 18 yards. In the fourth quarter, Olivas stripped a wide receiver of the ball, resulting in the game-winning offensive possession by the Leopards.

Red-Zone Opportunities: Lafayette has made the most of its red-zone chances, turning 14-of-16 chances into points (11 touchdowns and 3 field goals).

The D Lately: For the Lafayette defense, the last two outings have been their best in terms of limiting opponents' total yardage. Lafayette held Bucknell to 287 yards of total offense (124 rushing, 163 passing), just shy of the season best (a week prior) when the Leopards surrendered 264 yards (104 rushing, 160 passing) at Georgetown. Leading the charge vs. Bucknell was junior LB Major Jordan who ended the day with a career-high 14 tackles, including 10 solo stops.

Last Time Out: Trailing 17-14 with 9:15 left in regulation, Lafayette needed a momentum-changing play by its defense, and Marco Olivas responded. The freshman linebacker stripped the ball from a Bucknell pass catcher and Yasir Thomas covered it.
    The Leopards' running game did the rest. Freshman QB Keegan Shoemaker scrambled for a 10-yard run and then Jaden Sutton had runs of three and 10 yards before Selwyn Simpson finished off the quick-strike scoring drive with a 22-yard run down the home sideline for the 21-17 victory.

The Last Time They Met: Lafayette rolled up a season-high 280 rushing yards in a 21-13 final at Fordham on Oct. 27, 2018. 
    Selwyn Simpson (12-112) and C.J. Amill (25-133) took turns hammering at the Fordham defense and combined for all three scores in the game. The Leopard defense turned in a dominating performance, holding Fordham to minus-20 rushing yards and just 122 total yards in the game which ended with a second-half shutout. 
    The weather was a factor for both teams with wind gusts approaching 30 miles per hour to accompany rain most of the afternoon. Accordingly, the Leopards kept the ball on the ground, running 58 times while passing just nine. 

Big Run: Freshman Jaden Sutton had the longest run of his brief career vs. Georgetown. He 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.

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. 

A Passing Fancy: Freshman QB Keegan Shoemaker has completed 64 percent of his passes in 2019, a mark that ranks him first in the Patriot League and 26th in the nation. His single-season mark thus far also ranks him fourth all-time at Lafayette. Shoemaker is first in the conference (31st in NCAA) in completions per game (19.4), passing yards (1,794) and passing yards per game (224.3) and is second in passing efficiency (129.3). He also ranks first in the Patriot League in total offense (247.6). 

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 six of the Leopards' longest 10 plays this season with receptions of 80, 47, 45, 44, 43 and 41 yards. He has eight catches of 20 or more yards. Pearson's 80-yard TD catch and run vs. Monmouth is the Leopards' second-longest play from scrimmage this season.

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).  

Offense On the Upswing: The numbers show that the Lafayette offense is significantly improved in 2019. The Leopards are averaging 17.9 points, 240 passing yards and 110 rushing yards per game in 2019. Through eight games in 2018, Lafayette was averaging 14.1 points, 186 passing yards and 90 rushing yards per game.  

Opponent: The Rams, who enter with a 3-5 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Patriot League play, are coming off their bye week. Fordham registered a last-minute (16 seconds to be exact) win at Georgetown on Oct. 12., 30-27. The Rams were on the other end of the 30-27 score a week later,  losing in overtime at home vs. Lehigh.
    Sophomore QB Tim DeMorat is leading the offense, completing 145-of-255 for 1,610 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Classmate Fotis Kokosioulis and junior Hamze El-Zayat are DeMorat's main targets, snagging 38 catches and six TD's and 36 catches and two TD's, respectively. Junior RB Zach Davis gets the bulk of the carries with 147 for 861 yards and five touchdowns.   
    On defense, sophomore LB Ryan Greenhagen leads the team with 82 tackles, including 13 tackles for loss. Junior DE Ellis Taylor has 6.5 sacks on the year, tied for 17th in the nation. 
    Fordham is coached by Joe Conlin (Pitt '02) who is in his second season on the sidelines in the Bronx. Prior to Fordham, he was an assistant at Yale for four seasons.