The Match-Up: Lafayette closes its three-game road swing with its second trip to Massachusetts in four weeks. The Leopards are set for a 12:30 p.m. kick off in Worcester, Mass. The two teams did not meeting in the COVID-shortened 2021 spring campaign when Holy Cross won a second straight conference title. 

Down the Stretch: It is Patriot League play the rest of the way for Lafayette. Holy Cross, Colgate and Lehigh await the Leopards in the final three weeks which Leopard head coach John Garrett likened to an elimination tournament. With wins over Bucknell (27-0) and Georgetown (24-23) and a loss to Fordham (42-41), Lafayette is in the Patriot League title hunt, but there isn't much margin for error, as the conference champion typically has no more than one loss in the seven-team field. 

Run the Ball...Stop The Run: In the Leopards' three wins this season, they have averaged 158 yards per game on the ground and limited opponents to 59 rushing yards per game. In their five losses, they have averaged 47.2 rushing yards per game and allowed 204.6. 

Capital Comeback: Lafayette climbed out of a 17-0 hole to come back and beat Georgetown on Oct. 30. The Leopards did not lead in the game until the 5:31 mark in the fourth quarter when Micah Pettit booted a 28-yard field goal to give Lafayette the 24-23 lead. 

...But, The Work Wasn't Done: The Leopards' defense needed to make one more stand to uphold the one-point margin. Georgetown converted one fourth down at its own 37 on a 13-yard pass. Lafayette forced a second and final fourth down at the Lafayette 33-yard line. Georgetown bled the clock and Lafayette took a timeout to ice the kicker. Out of the timeout, Colin Hurlbrink blocked a 50-yard try and the Leopards escaped with the victory.

Keys Across the Key Bridge: Ah-Shaun Davis to Julius Young proved to the be the most lucrative connection for the Lafayette offense at Georgetown. Of Davis' 203 passing yards, 150 went to Young who caught nine balls including a touchdown of 47 yards with additional receptions of 34, 23 and 20 yards. Young's play secured him the first Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honor of his career.
    The ground game was also effective, churning out 140 rushing yards. Senior Selwyn Simpson had 92 yards, including the Leopards' longest run from scrimmage this season, a 55-yard first-quarter TD that kick-started the offense. Junior RB Jaden Sutton added 40 yards and a TD.
    Defensively, Malik Hamm (8 tackles and 2.5 sacks) and the Leopards limited Holy Cross to 77 rushing yards. Hamm garnered Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time this season. 

Comeback: The last time Lafayette won a game when trailing by 15 or more points  was Nov. 8, 2014 at Colgate (19-16) after trailing 16-0 in third quarter.

Don't @ Me: Lafayette is finishing off a three-game road swing, its first span of that length since 2016. Earlier in the season, the Leopards played four straight at home for the first time since 2011.

Olivas' Numbers: Junior LB Marco Olivas leads the Leopards with 84 tackles and a team-best 7.5 tackles for loss. Against Bucknell, the Integrative Engineering major led the defense with 16 tackles and helped limit Bucknell to 89 rushing yards while earning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week laurels. At No. 19 Harvard, he followed with 15 stops and two tackles for loss. 

A Fresh Leg: Freshman PK Micah Pettit has been a sound addition to the special teams units. In week eight against Georgetown, Pettit nailed the game-winning 28-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. In week six, Pettit connected for a career-long 49-yard field goal vs. Bucknell and also added a 45-yarder. The 49-yard kick is tied for the fourth longest in school history and is the longest since 2010. When Pettit booted a 47-yarder at William and Mary, it was the longest make since 2011. The Utah native is 4-for-4 on kicks of 40 to 49 yards and 8-of-11 overall on the season to go along with 17-of-17 PAT conversions. Pettit was named the Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 11 following the Bucknell game.  

Rivalry 157: In a recent development, Lehigh has moved the kick-off time for Rivalry 157 on Nov. 20 in Bethlehem, Pa. to noon.

Run The Ball...: Lafayette rushed for a season-high 215 yards against Bucknell with senior Selwyn Simpson and freshman Michael Hayes each accounting for 74 yards and a touchdown. Junior WR Joe Gillette contributed 50 yards and his own rushing TD (to go along with three catches for 72 yards).

Turnover Tales: For the season, Lafayette is minus-five in turnovers and 1-4 (Georgetown) when committing more turnovers than its opponent.

Freshman Factor: Freshman QB Ah-Shaun Davis has been a major factor for the Leopards. Davis, the Patriot League Rookie of the Week twice this season, has started the last six games, completing 93-of-146 (64%) with four touchdowns and four interceptions. He is coming off a 15-of-22 day for 203 yards with a touchdown at Georgetown. Against Bucknell, Davis was 11-for-18 for 122 yards. The week prior he registered a 20-of-28, 354-yard, two-touchdown passing performance vs. Fordham when he went toe to toe with the reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year. Davis did not throw an INT and also ran in a TD in the Leopards' first 300-yard passing game since 2019, earning Rookie of the Week honors.
    In his collegiate debut vs. No. 23 New Hampshire on Sept. 18, he was 16-of-23 for 192 yards with a pick while completing passes to five targets. Against Penn, Davis completed 12-of-18 for 157 yards and a TD and his second ROW honor. 
Big Plays For 14: On the Leopards' 27 plays of 20 yards or more from scrimmage in 2021, Ah-Shaun Davis has been involved in 16 of them, including the season-long play from scrimmage, a 74-yard TD toss to K.J. Rodgers vs. Fordham. The week prior vs. Penn, Davis heaved a 70-yard bomb to Joe Gillette. 

Year Five In The Garrett Era: John Garrett is in his fifth season at Lafayette. Garrett took over the coaching reins on Dec. 21, 2016. He guided Lafayette to a pair of 3-8 campaigns in 2017 and 2018, a 4-8 mark in 2019 before a 2-1 clip in the spring 2021 campaign. Lafayette registered a third-place conference finish in 2017 (3-3) and a fourth-place finish in 2018 (2-4) before a break through with a second-place finish in 2019 when Lafayette won four of its last five games. The Leopards finished second in the Patriot League south division in the spring 2021 season.
    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.

Opponent: Holy Cross is 6-2 overall and 3-0 in Patriot League play with wins over UConn, Yale, Monmouth, Georgetown, Colgate and Lehigh with losses to Merrimack and Harvard. 
    The Crusaders have put up big offensive numbers, averaging 32.2 points per game with a balanced rushing attack led by soph. QB Matthew Sluka, senior RB Peter Oliver and junior RB Tyler Purdy who have 1,255 yards combined. Sluka has 10 rushing TDs and freshman Jordan Fuller has added four more. Sluka (62-112-4) and sophomore Marco Siderman (57-90-2) each have spent significant time at QB, combining for 10 passing touchdowns. Five players have 15 or more catches with soph. Jalen Coker leading the way with 29 catches for 401 yards and two TDs. 
    Defensively, junior LB Jacob Dobbs leads the team with 89 stops. He also has a team-best 12.5 tackles for loss as does fellow LB Liam Anderson. The duo has combined for 13 sacks. Holy Cross is allowing 92 yards per game on the ground and 187 through the air. 
    The Crusaders are coached by Bob Chesney who is in his fourth season.