The Match-Up: Week two of the Leopards' Empire State swing takes Lafayette to Fordham, facing a Rams' team which has won four of its last five games and has ascended to No. 18 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Top 25 poll and No. 23 in the STATS Perform poll. The teams have not played in the Bronx since 2018.

The Week That Was: Lafayette is coming off a 21-16 win over Colgate in week nine, the Leopards' first win in Hamilton, N.Y. since 2014. Lafayette's running game helped control the pace, going for a season-high 176 yards. Senior TB Jaden Sutton ran 22 times for 83 yards and a touchdown and picked up three crucial first downs on the last offensive drive of the game to close it out. Freshman Jamar Curtis finished with 14 carries for 77 yards. Soph. Ah-Shaun Davis was efficient under center, completing 13-of-20 for 140 yards and a TD.
     Defensively, seniors Jyaire Stevens (8) and Marco Olivas (7) combined for 15 tackles and a sack while junior Preston Forney added a pair of tackles for loss and forced a fumble. The Leopards limited the Raiders' read-option rushing attack to 124 yards on the ground (compared to their average of 169.8 yards per game) and held Colgate QB Michael Brescia to 45 rushing yards.

0 Weekly Honors: Jyaire Stevens' effort at Colgate did not go unnoticed as the senior DL was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week. In addition to finishing with eight tackles, Stevens was instrumental on Colgate's final drive of the game. He and senior LB Marco Olivas ganged up on Colgate QB Michael Brescia for a sack near midfield on second down. On third down, they teamed up again to slow Brescia for a one-yard gain to force a punt with 5:30 left in the game.

The Week That Will Be: Week 11 will wrap up the 2022 season for the Leopards when they host Lehigh on Nov. 19 in the 158th Meeting of College Football's Most-Played Rivalry. The Leopards lead the series 80-72-5. It will be the first meeting with a full complement of fans in Fisher Stadium since 2018. 

D In the League: Lafayette's defense leads the Patriot League in total defense, (312.2 ypg), rushing defense (111.7 ypg) and opponents' first downs (17 pg) and is second in the Patriot League in third-down conversions (38.9%), scoring defense (20.3 ppg), red-zone defense (72.2%), passing efficiency defense (119.8) and tackles for loss (5.6).


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: Senior DL Malik Hamm continues to re-write the Lafayette sacks record, adding another vs. Georgetown on Oct. 29. He now has 31 for his career, ranking him as Lafayette's all-time leader while also third in the NCAA's active career sacks leaders. Hamm is 11th in the nation and second in the Patriot League with 0.83 sacks per game.
    Hamm has sole possession of fourth place in Patriot League history after passing Georgetown's Andrew Schaetzke '12 with 30.5 sacks. He needs two more sacks to move into third place held by Colgate's Nick Wheeler '19 and three more to ascend to second place occupied by Holy Cross' Tom Smith '89 with 34. 

The Run Game: The Leopards are 3-1 when the team rushes for 100 yards or more in a game. Lafayette counts Sacred Heart (30-105), Bucknell (43-137) and Colgate (51-176) in the win column with the lone exception being No. 6/9 Holy Cross (37-163). 

Quality Opponents: Four of the Leopards' losses have come against FCS opponents enjoying stellar 2022 campaigns. Holy Cross (9-0), William & Mary (8-1), Penn (7-1) and Princeton (8-0) have a combined record of 32-2 with all four either ranked in or receiving votes in the top 25 polls. 

Hide the Hankies: The Leopards rank first in the Patriot League in fewest penalty yards (353), fewest penalty yards per game (39.2), fewest penalties (47) and fewest penalties per game (5.2). Lafayette is 11th in the nation for fewest penalty yards per game and 13th for fewest penalty yards.

The Opponent: Fordham enters the contest 7-2 overall and 3-1 in league play, coming off a Patriot League win over Bucknell (59-17). The Rams' only losses are a 53-52 overtime decision at Holy Cross and a 59-52 final against FBS foe Ohio. Fordham also has wins over Wagner (48-31), Monmouth (52-49), Albany (48-45), Georgetown (59-38), Lehigh (40-28) and Stony Brook (45-14). 
    Offensively, Fordham boasts the best passing offense in the FCS. Senior QB Tim DeMorat leads the country with 3,635 passing yards (404 ypg). His favorite target is senior WR Fostis Kokosioulis, who ranks second in the country in receiving yards (993) and is also tied for third in the country with 10 receiving touchdowns. 
    Defensively, sophomore LB James Conway has tallied 92 total tackles, averaging 10.2 per game which ranks him 10th in the FCS. Grad student Ryan Greenhagen, a former Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, has registered seven tackles for loss with 4.5 sacks.
    Fordham is coached by Joe Conlin, who is in his fifth season as head coach.