The Match-Up: Lafayette remains on the road for week two, taking a trip down the shore to face Monmouth on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Kessler Stadium. It marks the fourth meeting between the two schools who played each other the last two seasons and are slated to complete the four-games series in Easton, Pa. in 2021. 

A Little More About the Series: The teams first met in 2002 with Lafayette garnering a 30-29 win in Easton thanks to a last-minute field goal by Martin Brecht. 2017 marked the opening game of John Garrett's Lafayette tenure and a 31-12 Monmouth win while the Hawks dedicated a newly-renovated stadium. 
    The 2018 matchup in Easton was a family affair, pitting then-Lafayette assistant Kevin Callahan Jr. against his father on the Monmouth sideline with the elder's squad holding the Leopards scoreless in the second half en route to a 24-20 Monmouth win. Callahan Jr. joined his father's staff for the 2019 season.  

Last Time Out: Lafayette saw William and Mary break open a 10-6 ballgame with 24 points in the third quarter as the CAA foe pulled away to a 30-17 final in the season opener. The Leopards were hurt by three turnovers in that decisive stanza, leading to 17 Tribe points.

Under Center: Junior Cole Northrup made his first career start at quarterback for the Leopards, playing all but a few series at William and Mary. He finished the game 10-of-17 for 171 yards while rushing for 39 yards and a touchdown. Freshman QB Keegan Shoemaker completed 13-of-22 for 127 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Junior Sean O'Malley, who started every game the last two seasons, did not see any time at QB, but served as a the field goal and PAT holder. 

Where He Left Off: Sophomore DL Malik Hamm continued the play that led to his selection as the 2018 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. At William and Mary, Hamm made nine tackles, including two for a loss, one of which forced the Tribe to opt for a field goal.

In Front of the Home Crowd: Sophomore TE Steven Stilianos grew up about 20 minutes from the William and Mary campus and attended Tribe games for much of his youth. So, it was no surprise that William and Mary saw his best effort, a career-best performance in which he reeled in six catches for 54 yards while getting the start. 

Lots of Hands In Play: The Leopards' two quarterbacks at William and Mary hit 11 receivers on the night with Steven Stilianos (6), Julian Spigner (4), Quinn Revere (4) and John Gay (2) all catching at least two passes and seven other players making one catch apiece. The last time Lafayette used 11 receivers in a game was Sept. 24, 2016 vs. No. 15 Villanova.

Major Contributions: Junior LB Major Jordan made a game- and career-high 12 tackles (5 solo, 7 assists) at William and Mary. Jordan finished third on the team with 66 tackles in 2018, including a previous career high of 10 stops at Delaware.

Rookie Runner: Freshman John Gay had a solid initial outing for the Leopards at William and Mary. He carried the ball six times for 33 yards and made two catches for 27 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown reception.  

Fresh Faces On the Two-Deep: Entering week two, there are 11 freshmen on the two-deep. One first-year player, Alex Barshaba, cracked the starting lineup at William and Mary while fifteen freshmen received playing time.
    The Patriot League does not allow redshirt seasons for any reason 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.

Home Game: Two Leopards are playing close to home on Saturday at Monmouth. Junior LB Ryan Dickens is a native of Hazlet, N.J., 17 miles from the West Long Branch campus, while freshman K/P Ryan O'Hara lives five miles from Monmouth in Little Silver, N.J. 

Year Three In The Garrett Era: John Garrett is in his third season as the Lafayette head coach. Garrett took over the coaching reins on Dec. 21, 2016 and has guided Lafayette to a pair of 3-8 campaigns. Lafayette registered a third-place conference finish in 2017 (3-3) and a fourth-place finish in 2018 (2-4). Garrett has more than 25 years of coaching experience at the NFL, NCAA FBS and NCAA FCS levels. Offensive coordinator stints at Richmond and Oregon State preceded his hiring.

Local Knowledge: Lafayette head coach John Garrett was born in Danville, Pa., but lived part of his early years in Monmouth Beach, N.J., a borough five miles from Monmouth's campus that his parents called home.

They're Back: Lafayette returns 15 starters, seven on offense and eight on defense, along with two special teams starters. Of those 15 returners, four were 2018 All-Patriot League selections and 2019 Preseason All-Patriot League honorees in seniors Jake Marotti (OL), Nick Pearson (WR) and Yasir Thomas (S) and sophomore Malik Hamm (DE). Lafayette brings back 43 letterwinners. 

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. A total of 15 programs registered a GSR of 100 percent. Lafayette football earned a ranking of 97, tied for eighth-best in the nation and first in the Patriot League, outpacing Holy Cross (96), Georgetown (92), Bucknell (91), Colgate (89), Fordham (88), Lehigh (83). 

Opponent: Monmouth is coming off an 8-3 mark from 2018, when the Hawks won six out of their last seven games and finished second in the Big South Conference standings. The three losses came to Eastern Michigan, Princeton and No. 2 Kennesaw State, each of whom scored 51 points in their respective game. Monmouth opened this season with a 48-13 road loss to FBS Western Michigan on Aug. 31.  
    Junior RB Pete Guerriero was an All-Big South Second-Team selection last season, finishing with 918 yards after 1,061 in his rookie season. Guerriero ran for a 107 yards and a touchdown in week one. Big South Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Kenji Bahar has started the last 27 games for the Hawks, completing 60 percent of his passes. The fifth-year senior had 20 touchdowns (11 to Reggie White Jr. '19) to six interceptions in 2018.
    Like Bahar, fifth-year senior Tymere Berry is serving as a team captain. The preseason All-American made 60 tackles in 2018 with two interceptions and 10 passes defended.
    Monmouth is coached by Kevin Callahan who is in his 27 season and is the only head coach in program history.