The Match-Up: The Leopards (7-1, 3-0) come back to the valley for three straight games, hosting Colgate on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and Fordham on Senior Day on Nov. 11 before venturing to Bethlehem in week 11 for #Rivalry159. The Raiders (3-5, 1-2) are coming off a 49-34 shootout loss at home vs. Bucknell in week eight. 

In the Top 25: Lafayette's 38-35 Patriot League road win over No. 11/15 Holy Cross pushed the Leopards into the top-25 polls on Oct. 23. They were ranked 19th in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and 21st in the Stats Perform Poll, which selected Lafayette its FedEx Ground FCS National Team of the Week. After the road win at Georgetown, Lafayette is 16th in the Coaches Poll and 20th in the Stats Perform ranking on Oct. 30. The Leopards' No. 16 ranking is the highest any Lafayette team has reached in the Patriot League era, surpassing the 2004 squad which finished its season at No. 19 in both polls.
    Prior to this season, the last time Lafayette was ranked in either poll was Dec. 21, 2009, then No. 24 in the Sports Network Poll (now Stats Perform) and No. 25 in the FCS Coaches Poll.

Streaking: The Leopards have won six straight games this season and have put together eight 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. Currently, Lafayette is one of just seven FCS teams in the nation without a loss to an FCS team this season, joining South Dakota State, Delaware, Furman, Florida A&M, North Carolina Central and Incarnate Word). 

So Far…So Good: 2023 has been a breakthrough season for the Leopards in year two of the John Troxell '94 era. Lafayette...
    • 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 the first time on the road 
      since 1982.
    • recorded a win over No. 11/15 Holy Cross (the Leopards' first top-25 win since 
     2013) and snapped Holy Cross' 18-game conference win streak.
    • guaranteed the program its first winning season since 2013.
    • appeared in the Top 25  for the first time since 2009.
    • finished off the month of October undefeated for the first time since 2009.

2013 Title Team to Be Honored: Lafayette's 2013 Patriot League title team will be recognized this weekend, as part of the Tavani Years Reunion. That team went 5-7 overall, 4-1 in league play, including a 50-28 final at No. 15 Lehigh to clinch the title. 

Running the Ball: Lafayette is averaging 197.5 rushing yards per game, a mark that ranks the Leopards 16th in the nation among 128 schools. Behind a solid offensive line, soph. Jamar Curtis accounts for most of the yards, racking up a Patriot League best 120.2 yards per outing (sixth in the nation) and 962 total rushing yards (fifth in the nation). Curtis ranks second in the conference and 16th in the nation in yards per carry (6.5 ypc).

With a Win on Saturday, Lafayette Would: 
• Be 8-1 for the first time since 2009 (also the last time Lafayette won seven games in a row)
• Open Patriot League play at 4-0 for the first time since 2005
• Register program win No. 699
• Beat Colgate two seasons in a row for the first time since 1994-95

Maroon and "White": Junior Saiku White has been a defensive standout from his safety position. White, who leads the team with 57 tackles, is coming off a two-interception performance at Georgetown, one of which he returned 42 yards for a touchdown en route to collecting Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors. White opened the season with a game- and career-high 12 stops at Sacred Heart. The Atlanta, Ga. native followed with a game-high 11 tackles at No. 21 Duke. Against Monmouth, White made a game-high nine stops.  

Bruce = ROW: Freshman RB Troy Bruce parlayed his 98-yard rushing game (including a 71-yard touchdown) at Georgetown into Patriot League Rookie of the Week laurels. Bruce was also the Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 2.

A Stack of Sacks: The Leopards are leading the nation in sacks per game (3.88) and rank fourth for tackles for loss (7.8). Lafayette piled up seven sacks each against Princeton, Bucknell and Monmouth. For the season, 11 different players have been able to get home, with Billy Shaeffer (8.0) and Tim O'Hearn (4.5) leading the way. 

Turnover Tales: The Leopards went four straight games (Monmouth, Bucknell, Princeton and Holy Cross) without a turnover before handing the ball over twice at Georgetown). For the season, Lafayette is plus-five in the turnover category.

Shaeffer's Sacks: Senior OLB Billy Shaeffer has turned up the pressure in the last four games, with eight sacks and 13 tackles for loss in Leopard victories. He currently ranks fourth in the nation in sacks, averaging 1.0 per game.
    At Georgetown, Shaeffer had 12 tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and two pass breakups. That followed a Holy Cross game when he had seven tackles with 2.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks in the win. Shaeffer was coming off two straight weeks with Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors (10/2, 10/9). At Princeton, he had 10 tackles with three TFL, 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. Lafayette held Princeton to three rushing 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.  
DeNobile Under Center: Soph. Dean DeNobile has started the last seven games. The Upper Saddle River, N.J. native has completed 65 percent of his throws for 1,214 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. He ranks second in the conference and 26th in the nation in completion percentage. DeNobile threw for a career-high 262 yards in an Oct. 21 win over nationally-ranked Holy Cross. 
    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 TDs (the first Leopard to do so since 2015) in the second quarter to four different receivers in a 56-point effort. 

700 On the Horizon: The Lafayette football program is approaching 700 all-time wins since its inaugural season in 1882. Lafayette currently has 698 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 (707) and ahead of Colgate (670). Entering the season, only 49 programs had won 700 or more games. 

A Grand Run?: Soph. TB Jamar Curtis needs 38 yards to be the first player to hit 1,000 rushing yards in a season since Ross Scheuerman in 2014. 

The Road to November: The Leopards did not play a home game in October, with three road games and a bye week on the ledger. Lafayette finished the month with an undefeated mark for the first time since 2009. 

The Opponent: Colgate is 3-5 overall and 1-2 in Patriot League play. The Raiders started the season 0-4 before winning their next three games (Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown). They are coming off a 49-34 home loss to Bucknell. 
    Junior Michael Brescia has been under center for most of the season. The former Patriot League Rookie of the Year has completed 54 percent of his passes for 760 yards with two TDs and seven INTs. Freshman QB Jake Stearney saw time vs. Bucknell, completing 7-of-9 for 51 yards and a TD. Classmate Chris Gee leads the team in rushing with 336 yards and a TD. Brescia also has four rushing TDs. 
    Defensively, the Raiders have given up an average of 481 offensive yards per game (305 through the air and 176 on the ground), including 593 yards to Bucknell. Linebackers Christian Sweeney (53) and Tyler Flick (52) and DB Owen Goss (49) have combined for 155 tackles.
    The Raiders are coached by Colgate alum Stan Dakosty '05 who is in his third season. The Tamaqua, Pa. native has been on Colgate's staff since 2007.