The Match-Up: The Maroon and White continue in Patriot League play as Georgetown comes to College Hill for Senior Day. It is also Military Appreciation Day at the Leopards' last home game until the regular-season finale with Lehigh on Nov. 19.  

Inspired Defensive Effort: The play of Lafayette's defense has been steady throughout the season and the Holy Cross game was no exception. Lafayette held No. 6/9 Holy Cross to 15 points below its season scoring average. The defense also limited Holy Cross to 99 rushing yards and 82 passing yards -- both season lows for the Crusaders.

Leading the Charge: At the head of that defensive effort was senior linebacker Marco Olivas. Olivas made a game-high 13 tackles, including 10 solo stops, and also contributed a half tackle for loss and a pair of quarterback hurries.   

3 For 14: Soph. QB Ah-Shaun Davis made his first start of the season. Davis threw for a career-high three touchdowns (to three different receivers) while completing 19-of-39 for 166 yards.

Offensive Output: Lafayette managed its largest offensive output of the season against Holy Cross, churning out 70 more total yards (329) than their previous best of 259 at Bucknell. The Leopards pushed out 162 rushing yards (topping the Bucknell effort of 137) and threw for 166. 
    Senior RB Jaden Sutton carried 19 times for 133 yards with a long run of 41 yards (the Leopards' second longest play of the year from scrimmage). It was Sutton's third 100-yard rushing game of his career and the Leopards' first since Oct. 2, 2021 when Selwyn Simpson had 110 at Fordham. 

D In the League: Through seven games, Lafayette's defense is second in the Patriot League in scoring defense (19.6 ppg), red-zone defense (67%), rushing yards allowed (126) and opponents' third-down conversions (39.8) while ranking first in fewest first downs allowed (18.1).

Quality Opponents: Four of the Leopards' losses have come against FCS opponents enjoying quality starts to their seasons. Holy Cross (7-0), William & Mary (6-1), Penn (6-0) and Princeton (5-1) have a combined record of 24-2 with all four either ranked in or receiving votes in the top 25 polls. 

Year One In The Troxell Era: John Troxell is in his first season as head coach of the Lafayette Leopards. The '94 Lafayette alum returns to College Hill after a 16-year head coaching stint at Franklin & Marshall College. When Troxell first arrived at F&M, the Diplomats hadn't managed a winning season in 13 years. Four years later, after a full recruiting cycle, the Diplomats finished with a 9-2 record and continued to climb, subsequently reaching the postseason on nine occasions.
    Leopards fans are hoping for similar results on College Hill as the Maroon and White search for their first Patriot League title since 2013.
    Troxell has been a key ingredient in program rebuilds at each of his stops, and his time on College Hill as an assistant coach on Frank Tavani's staff was no exception. He served various roles as the running backs coach, recruiting coordinator and special teams coach from 2001-05. His selection as the recruiting coordinator in 2003 helped kick off a stretch of three straight titles for the Leopards in 2004, 2005 and 2006 that coincided with the program's first three NCAA FCS Playoff appearances.
    Prior to Lafayette, Troxell was part of a dramatic reversal at Muhlenberg College from 1997-2000 under head coach Mike Donnelly. He served multiple roles, working as the special teams coordinator (1997-99), quarterbacks coach and wide receivers coach (1997-2000) and offensive coordinator (2000). Muhlenberg progressed from a 1-9 season in 1997 to the Eastern College Athletic Conference title with a record of 9-2 in 2000. In 2000, under Troxell's tutelage, the offense ranked 22nd in the nation and led the Centennial Conference in total offense (427.8 ypg) while averaging 31.0 points per game.
    Troxell joined the Muhlenberg staff after serving as an assistant coach for three seasons (1994-96) at Columbia University under head coach Ray Tellier, beginning his career path of coaching at elite academic institutions. In 1996, Troxell oversaw a secondary that recorded the third-best passing defense in the country. The turnaround tendency first showed itself at Columbia in 1994 when the Ivy League school recorded its first winning season in 23 seasons. An 8-2 mark and the program's best finish in 15 years followed in 1996.
    His first extended stint on College Hill came as a student-athlete from 1990-94, when he earned his bachelor's degree in government and law. Troxell was the starting free safety on the Leopards' 1992 Patriot League Championship team and received the Unsung Hero Award as a senior. He completed his master's degree in sociology and education in 1997 while on staff at Columbia.

99 + 1.5: Senior DL Malik Hamm continues to re-write the Lafayette sacks record, adding 1.5 sacks  vs. Holy Cross on Oct. 22. He now has 30 for his career, ranking him as Lafayette's all-time leader and placing him tied for fifth in Patriot League history with Fordham's Aaron Dougherty '94. He needs a half sack to take over fourth place occupied by Georgetown's Andrew Schaetzke '12 with 30.5. Hamm is currently 18th in the nation and second in the Patriot League with 0.86 sacks per game.

99 X 3: Malik Hamm blocked kicks in three straight games. He stopped a PAT against Princeton on Oct. 8, an effort that led to Lafayette's only points of the game. At Bucknell, on Oct. 1 he blocked a 40-yard field-goal attempt. That followed a blocked PAT at Penn. Hamm is second in the Patriot League and is third in the nation in blocked kicks.

PAT Return: Freshman Byron Johnson returned a blocked PAT for two points against Princeton, the Leopards' first PAT return since Nov. 13, 2004, when Blake Costanzo accomplished the feat against Holy Cross. That season kicked off a run of three straight Patriot League championships for Lafayette.

Upcoming: Lafayette goes on the road for the next two weeks, venturing to Hamilton, N.Y. to face Colgate on Saturday, Nov. 5 before a short trip to the Bronx to battle Fordham on Nov. 12. The Leopards close out the regular season on Nov. 19, hosting Lehigh in Rivalry 158. 

Hide the Hankies: The Leopards rank first in the Patriot League in fewest penalty yards (274), fewest penalty yards per game (39.1), fewest penalties (36) and fewest penalties per game (5.1). Those marks also place them 13th, 13th, 31st,  and 29th, respectively, in the nation.

The Opponent: Georgetown enters the contest 1-6 overall and 0-3 in league play. The Hoyas are coming off at 34-24 loss at Colgate and also have faced Fordham (59-38) and Lehigh (21-19) in conference action. Georgetown's lone win of the season came in week one, a 43-12 victory at Marist. 
    Offensively, Georgetown has found ways to move the ball, averaging over 350 yards of total offense per game. The Hoyas are led by senior quarterback Pierce Holley who has thrown for 11 touchdowns and 1,885 yards through seven games. Graduate student Joshua Tomas has been Holley's favorite target all season, hauling in 60 catches for 716 yards with five touchdowns. On the ground, Joshua Stakely is averaging 4.5 yards per carry and has three touchdowns through six games. 
    Defensively, graduate student Justin Fonteneaux has tallied 57 total tackles, 41 of them solo stops to go along with 3.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore DL Ibri Harrel leads things up front with five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks on the year.
    Georgetown is coached by Rob Sgarlata, who is in his ninth season as head coach.