The Match-Up: The Leopards are searching for their first win of the season and turn their attention to the Penn Quakers for a Saturday afternoon tilt on Family Weekend on College Hill.

2021 So Far: Lafayette has battled three tough teams in the early going, opening at  FBS foe Air Force (3-0), before traveling to William and Mary (2-1) and then hosting No. 23 New Hampshire (3-0). Those teams are a combined 8-1. 

Freshman Under Center: Freshman Ah-Shaun Davis made his QB debut vs. No. 23 New Hampshire. Davis completed 16-of-23 for 192 yards with one interception. Davis, who did not play in the first two games, completed passes to five targets.

Home Opener: The first play of the Leopards' home slate saw freshman Michael Hayes open things in style, ripping off a 93-yard kick-off return for a touchdown. It was the first kick return for a TD since 2018 (J.J. Younger, 95 yards vs. Monmouth).

Hangin' At Home: The Leopards are in the midst of a four-game home stand. They haven't played four in a row at home since 2011 when Fisher Stadium played host to five straight.

Defensive Performance: The defense has been up to the task in the early going and week three was no exception. Playing without starters Major Jordan and Damon Washington, Lafayette held the New Hampshire running attack in check, surrendering 133 yards, 50 of which came on one play in the fourth quarter. Junior LB Marco Olivas made a game-high 13 tackles while fellow linebacker Billy Shaeffer collected eight stops with a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. 
    At William and Mary the Leopard D limited the Tribe to just seven first downs and 173 yards of offense (96 passing, 77 rushing). The defense surrendered just one touchdown on a fluke play with seven seconds left in the third period. An under thrown ball hit off a receiver on the ground and bounced up to another receiver in the area who ran it in from 38 yards out. The official review let the play stand.

A Fresh Leg: Freshman PK Micah Pettit's first collegiate field goal showed off his leg. Pettit booted a 47-yarder with nine minutes left in the game at William and Mary (the longest field goal for a Leopard kicker since 2011). The Utah native followed with a 38-yard boot and a 41-yard connection against New Hampshire. 

COVID Note: Lafayette College has required all students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated for COVID-19 unless they have a medical or religious exemption.     Effective Sept. 20, the College is requiring proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test for admission to on-campus events, including athletic contests. Additionally, masking is currently required in all indoor spaces on campus, and the College expects everyone on campus to wear masks outdoors when in group settings.

Under Center?: Coming into the season opener, none of the quarterbacks on the Leopard roster had thrown a collegiate pass in a game. Soph. Rent Montie had the advantage of a year in Garrett's system. The Palm Harbor, Fla. native was an All-State selection out of Clearwater High School where he threw for 5,133 yards (356-of-609) for 55 touchdowns in his career.
    Soph. Aaron Angelos had the benefit of a redshirt season at Washington State before transferring to Lafayette in the summer of 2021. Angelos was an All-Inter-Academic League selection out of Philadelphia, completing 118-of-212 for 1,900 yards and 27 touchdowns at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.
    Freshman Ah-Shaun Davis was fourth on the depth chart behind senior Shane Davis. Ah-Shaun was an All-State selection in New Jersey, throwing for 4,241 yards and 54 touchdowns while helping lead his team to consecutive Central Jersey, Group I titles.
    Lafayette head coach John Garrett has used the opening games as an audition of sorts, giving three players significant reps. Angelos had the start at Air Force, completing 11-of-17 for 157 yards, while Montie was 7-of-11 for 86 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Angelos  also started the William and Mary game, completing 4-of-8 for 36 yards and an interception, while Montie went 24-of-41 for 188 yards with two picks while completing passes to eight receivers (despite being sacked six times). Davis was 16-of-23 for 192 yards with an INT vs. New Hampshire.
    
22's Grand Plateau: With 22 yards on the ground, No. 22 Selwyn Simpson reached 1,000 for his career. Simpson led the team in rushing in 2017 and 2019 and has 1,002 career yards. Simpson did not play vs. New Hampshire, but is expected to be back to face Penn. 

FBS Foes: Lafayette played an FBS foe in week one, dropping a 35-14 decision in the first-ever meeting with the Mountain West Conference's Air Force. The trip was the farthest west a Lafayette team has traveled in 140 seasons.
    Lafayette played Army in 2016 and was slated to play Navy in 2020 before COVID. Temple and Duke are the FBS foes on the ledger for the Leopards in 2022 and 2023, respectively. 

The Opponent: Penn is coming off a 30-6 beat down of Bucknell in the season opener for the Quakers. It marked the first win  for Penn in 672 days as the Ivy League cancelled its 2020 fall season and did not play any games in spring 2021.
    Senior John Quinnelly started the first game for the Quakers at quarterback. The Alabama native completed 15-of-22 for 273 yards and two touchdowns. He has the pick of two top receivers in Rory Starkey and All-Ivy selection Ryan Cragun. Starkey (2-113) and Cragun (6-110) combined for 223 receiving yards with 70 and 44-yard TD catches, respectively.
     Senior Prince Emilli was an All-Ivy honoree in 2019 and started the season with seven tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Senior LB Jake Heimlicher, senior DE Khalil Lewis and junior DL Micah Morris amassed 30 tackles and 3.5 TFL in week one for the 4-3 defense.
    Penn is coached by Ray Priore who is in his sixth season as the head coach and 34th on the Penn coaching staff. He has been part of 12 Ivy League titles — two as head coach.