The Match-Up: Week seven of the Leopards' season takes Lafayette to Worcester, Mass., where No. 11 Holy Cross awaits the Leopards on Saturday. 

Streaking: The Leopards have won four straight games this season and have put together six consecutive wins over FCS opponents, dating back to the win over Lehigh in the 2022 season finale. The  lone "blemish" this season is a 42-7 final at Duke.

Conference Slate: October finally pushes all of the Patriot League teams into the meat of their league schedules. The Leopards are 1-0, having run past Bucknell 56-22 on Sept. 30, while Holy Cross owns wins over Colgate (47-7) on Sept. 23 and Bucknell (55-27) on Oct. 7. Lafayette and Holy Cross both have games with Fordham, Lehigh and Georgetown remaining while Lafayette also faces Colgate. 

Bye-Bye: Both Lafayette and Holy Cross are coming off their bye weeks.

Running the Ball: Lafayette is averaging 200.3 rushing yards per game through six games, a mark that ranks the Leopards 17th in the nation among 122 schools. Behind a solid offensive line, soph. Jamar Curtis accounts for most of the yards, racking up a Patriot League best 116.3 yards per outing (sixth in the nation) with 698 total rushing yards (second in PL and ninth in NCAA). Curtis ranks second in the conference and 17th in the nation in yards per carry (6.4 ypc).

Back to Back Billy: Senior LB Billy Shaeffer won Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors consecutively (10/2, 10/9). At Princeton, he had 10 tackles with three tackles for loss, including two sacks, in a 12-9 victory. Shaeffer's second sack of the game and accompanying forced fumble stopped the would-be go-ahead scoring drive in the third quarter. Shaeffer helped stifle the running game, holding Princeton to three yards and just 3-of-13 overall on third down.
    In the Patriot League opener vs. Bucknell, Shaeffer rang up 3.5 sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and forced a fumble to go along with nine tackles. 

Turnover Tales: The Leopards have gone the last three games without a turnover. For the season, Lafayette is plus-four in turnovers.

Recording the Rankings: Lafayette's 5-1 start has drawn the attention of top 25 voters, as the Leopards have received votes in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform in the Oct. 9 and 16 poll releases. The Leopards also jumped into CBS' FCS Football Power Rankings at No. 25 on Oct. 9. The Leopards were last ranked in the AFCA Coaches and Stats Perform Coaches polls in  the final week of the 2009 season at No. 24. 

So Far So Good: Mid-way through the season, the Leopards have shown significant improvement from 2022. Lafayette has
    • Eclipsed its win total (4) from 2022 and equalled or surpassed the win total from 
    the previous 13 seasons.
    • Finished its non-league season with a 4-1 mark for the first time since 2009
    • Beat Princeton for the first time in 13 meetings and for the first time on the road 
    since 1982.

With a Win on Saturday, Lafayette Would: 
• Start the season at 6-1 for the first time since 2009
• Guarantee its first winning season since 2009
• Start Patriot League play at 2-0 for the first time since 2017

Three Sacks of Seven: The Lafayette defense has piled up seven sacks in each of the last three games. Lafayette is ranked first in the nation in sacks per game, averaging 4.5.
    At Princeton, Billy Shaeffer recorded two sacks while Blamassi Meite and Tim O'Hearn each had 1.5 sacks. A.T. Ntantang had one and Preston Forney and Jaylon Joseph added a half-sack apiece. 
    Against Bucknell, Shaeffer managed 3.5 sacks while Joseph and Meite each had one and O'Hearn, Michael Vaughn and Darien Riley had half-sacks.
    Versus Monmouth, O'Hearn led the way with two sacks while Forney, Joseph and Meite managed one and Riley and Marco Olivas split one.

700 On the Horizon: The Lafayette football program is approaching 700 all-time wins since its inaugural season in 1882. Lafayette currently has 696 program victories and ranked 52nd among all levels of college football at the beginning of the 2023 campaign. Among Patriot League programs, Lafayette sits behind Lehigh (706) and ahead of Colgate (669). Entering the season, only 49 programs had won 700 or more games. 

DeNobile Under Center: Soph. Dean DeNobile has started the last five games at quarterback. The Upper Saddle River, N.J. native has completed 67 percent for 781 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. He ranks first in the conference and 15th in the nation in completion percentage. 
    The Economics major twice has secured Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honors. He ran for two TDs and threw for two others in a win over Monmouth. DeNobile completed 10-of-14 for 110 yards while carrying the ball 12 times for 50 yards. Against Bucknell, he threw four touchdowns (the first Leopard to do so since 2015) in the second quarter to four different receivers in a 56-point effort. 

Bucknell Spoils: Following the Patriot League opener vs. Bucknell (9/30), Lafayette raked in three Patriot League Weekly awards. Dean DeNobile, Billy Shaeffer and Troy Bruce were named the Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week, respectively. DeNobile secured the award for a second straight week after throwing four TDs, all in the second quarter. He was also named the STATS Perform FCS National Freshman Player of the Week (based on his freshman eligibility). Shaeffer tallied 3.5 sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and forced a fumble to go along with nine tackles. Bruce affected all realms of special teams play, blocking a punt that set up a score, while also returning a kick off (25 yards) and a punt (5 yards) and adding six carries for 33 yards out of the backfield.  

Troxell Hits the Century Mark: Lafayette's win over Bucknell marked the 100th career coaching victory for Leopard head coach John Troxell. Troxell came to Lafayette with 92 head coaching wins while at Franklin and Marshall and has nine wins through parts of two seasons at Lafayette. 

Offensive Output: Lafayette's 56 points against Bucknell were the most for a Leopard offense since 2009 (when Lafayette tallied 56 in a win over Colgate). That followed a previous 2023 season-high of 28 points vs. Monmouth in week four. 

Curtis Runs For 100+: Soph. Jamar Curtis ran for his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season (fifth of his career) vs. Bucknell. With 698 rushing yards, the Waldorf, Md. native has already surpassed his 2022 rushing total (465 yards).

200+ Plus = Wins: The Leopards churned out 223 rushing yards at Sacred Heart, a mark they had not reached since week three of 2019. They followed with 239 vs. Columbia, 206 vs. Monmouth and 316 vs. Bucknell, all leading to victories. The 316-yard performance is the high-water mark in the Troxell era.

The Opponent: Holy Cross, 4-2 overall and 2-0 in Patriot League play, has won the last four Patriot League titles. The Crusaders are coming off a bye week, having last beaten Bucknell 55-27 in week six.
    Senior QB Matthew Sluka leads a balanced offense that averages 478 yards and 41.5 points per game. Sluka has completed 66 percent (92-of-139) of his passes for 1,364 yards and 16 TDs with four picks. He is also a serious run threat, leading the team with 570 yards and four TDs. Junior RB Jordan Fuller has played an increased role in the offense this season, collecting 13 touchdowns with 587 yards. Fuller had four scores and 147 yards against Bucknell. 
     Senior WR Jalen Coker is Sluka's favorite target with 35 receptions for 647 yards and nine TDs. 
    On the defensive end, fifth-year LB Jacob Dobbs has 87 tackles, 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles, with junior FS Curtis Harris-Lopez contributing 45 tackles. 
    The Crusaders are coached by Bob Chesney (Dickinson' 00) who is in his sixth season at Holy Cross and 14th overall.