The Match-Up: No. 18/20 Lafayette (9-2, 5-1 PL) opens up NCAA FCS Playoff action on Saturday at No. 12/11 Delaware (8-3, 6-2 CAA) at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. The Leopards and Blue Hens have squared off 28 times previously, last playing in 2018. The winner of Saturday's game will travel to face Montana on Dec. 1.

Back In the Mix: The Leopards are making their fifth FCS Playoff appearance and their first since 2013. Lafayette is searching for its first NCAA Playoff victory in the Patriot League era. Lafayette played at Delaware in 2004 (28-14), at Appalachian State in 2005 (34-23), at Massachusetts in 2006 (35-14) and at New Hampshire in 2013 (45-7).

Still Celebrating: Lafayette needed a win in the regular-season finale vs. archrival Lehigh on Nov. 18, and it was up to the task. The Leopards trailed by seven at halftime, but then outscored Lehigh 35-0 in the second half to claim a 49-21 win while securing the Patriot League title and the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA FCS Playoffs. It is the eighth Patriot League championship for Lafayette.

A Championship Season: 2023 has been a breakthrough/standout 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 40 seasons (last winning nine games in 1981).
    • finished its league season with a 5-1 mark for the first time since 2006.
    • 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.
    • captured its first Patriot League championship in a decade.
    • secured the program's 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.
    • beat Princeton for the first time in 13 meetings (first time on the road since '82).

700 Club: The Lafayette football program reached the 700-win plateau with the dominating victory over Lehigh in the regular-season finale. The Leopards, whose inaugural season was 1882, ranked 52nd among all levels of college football at the beginning of the 2023 campaign when only 49 programs (at all levels) in the nation had won 700 or more games. 

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 and three times against Colgate. Lafayette did not have a turnover vs. Fordham (0) or Lehigh (+3). For the season, Lafayette is +5 in the turnover category.

Running the Ball: Lafayette is averaging 195.7 rushing yards per game, a mark that ranks the Leopards 19th in the nation among 128 schools. Behind a strong offensive line, soph. Jamar Curtis accounts for most of the yards, racking up a Patriot League best 133.3 yards per outing (second in the nation) and 1,333 total rushing yards (fourth in the nation). Curtis also ranks third in the conference and 18th in the nation in yards per carry (6.5 ypc).

Trox Selected as Finalist for Robinson Award: John Troxell '94 is one of 20 national finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award, given annually to the national coach of the year in Division I FCS college football. In just his second year, Troxell guided Lafayette to a Patriot League title, pushed the Leopards to a national ranking and a 9-2 overall record, secured the 700th win in program history while earning Patriot League Coach of the Year honors.

Joseph Tabbed as Rice Award Finalist: Freshman DT Jaylon Joseph has been named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award. The award, named after the Hall of Fame wide receiver, has been presented to the top FCS freshman since 2011. Joseph has started 10 games as a rookie, piling up 26 tackles (13 solo) with 5.5 tackles for a loss of 31 yards, including four sacks. The Houston native has eight quarterback hurries and a blocked kick.

Shaeffer Tagged as Buck Buchanan Award Finalist: Senior Billy Shaeffer has earned a spot as a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football and presented by FedEx Ground. The outside linebacker has a team-leading 10 sacks (fourth in the nation), the most for a Leopard since 2000 and the second-most ever in a season at Lafayette. Shaeffer also has 20 tackles for loss (third in the nation). Shaeffer, who has twice been named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week in 2023 (10/2, 10/9), leads the team with 75 tackles.
    He has turned up the pressure in the last seven games with 10 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss in a 6-1 stretch for the Leopards. Versus Colgate, he had three TFL with two sacks and a forced fumble. 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. At Princeton, he had 10 tackles with three TFL, including two sacks, in a 12-9 victory. 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.

Curtis a Finalist For Walter Payton Award: Soph. RB. Jamar Curtis' season has not gone unnoticed by the national media. He is a finalist for the Walter Payton award handed out annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football and presented by FedEx Ground. Curtis has 206 carries for 1,333 yards (6.5 ypc) with 13 TDs while adding 16 receptions for 140 yards and a TD in 10 games. 

A Grand Run: Soph. TB Jamar Curtis ran for 204 yards against Fordham, surpassing 1,000 yards in a season for the first time in his career. Curtis is the first player to hit 1,000 rushing yards in a season since Ross Scheuerman (2014). He currently has 1,333 yards (206 carries), the fourth most in a season at Lafayette. His 12 rushing touchdowns in a season have tied him for 10th place.   

A Stack of Sacks: The Leopards are fifth the nation in sacks per game (3.2) and rank 13th in tackles for loss (7.3). Lafayette piled up seven sacks each against Princeton, Bucknell and Monmouth. For the season, 12 different players have been able to get home, with Billy Shaeffer (10) and Tim O'Hearn (4.5) leading the way.

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, 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. 
    The No. 16 ranking on Oct. 30 was the highest any Lafayette team has reached in the Patriot League era (since 1986), surpassing the 2004 squad which finished at No. 19 in both polls. Prior to this season, the last time Lafayette was ranked in either poll was Dec. 21, 2009, (No. 24 in the Stats Perform Poll and No. 25 in the FCS Coaches Poll).

With a Win on Saturday, Lafayette Would: 
• record 10 wins in a season for the time since 1899
• register program win No. 701
• secure the program's first-ever NCAA FCS Playoff win
• snap a 14-game Delaware series winning streak

With W's Come Awards: Following the Lehigh win, Lafayette saw soph. QB Dean DeNobile and freshman K Jack Simonetta collect Patriot League Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Week awards, respectively. DeNobile threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to earn game MVP honors at the 159th Meeting, while Simonetta connected for all seven of his PATs.

Delaware Connections: Lafayette offensive coordinator T.J. DiMuzio is a 2006 Delaware grad who coached the running backs (2007) and wide receivers (2008) at his alma mater and was a teammate of Delaware coach Ryan Carty. DiMuzio played quarterback for the Blue Hens and was a member of the 2003 national championship team. Head coach John Troxell was on the Lafayette staff as an assistant the last time the two teams met in the playoffs (2004). Current defensive coordinator Mike Saint Germain and cornerbacks coach Jeff Sejour were both members of that Patriot League title team. 
    On the other sideline, Delaware defensive coordinator Manny Rojas spent the 2019 season as Lafayette's defensive coordinator, as did current Delaware special teams coordinator Art Link from 2014-16. 

The Opponent: No. 12/11 Delaware enters the first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs at 8-3 (6-2 in CAA play). The Blue Hens have won three of their last five games, claiming victories vs. Hampton (47-3), Towson (51-13) and Campbell (45-7) while losing to Elon (33-27) and Villanova (35-7).
    Averaging 261 passing yards, the Blue Hens are led by junior QB Ryan O'Connor who has completed 57 percent of his passes for 1,907 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Grad students Jourdan Townsend, Joshua Youngblood and Braden Brose have 39, 28 and 23 receptions, respectively, combining for 1,200 receiving yards. On the ground, senior RB Marcus Yarns averages 77 yards per game, contributed 846 rushing yards with 14 TDs in 2023. He also has 24 receptions with three touchdowns.
    Defensively, LB Jackson Taylor leads the team with 97 tackles, including 11.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks. LB Dillon Trainer (57) and DBs Ty Davis (43) and Nic Ware (43) are also among the tackling leaders. DE Chase McGowan has rung up 14 tackles for loss and five sacks.
    Delaware is coached Ryan Carty (Delaware '06) who spent four seasons as the offensive coordinator at Sam Houston State prior to taking over at Delaware.