The Match-Up: Lafayette wraps up its three-game homestand with the biggest Patriot League game of the season thus far. The matchup features the last two conference winners and it is Homecoming/Parents Weekend on College Hill. Lafayette and Holy Cross are set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. at Fisher Stadium.

Glad to Have You Back: Members of the 2014 football team will gather to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Lafayette's iconic victory in the Lafayette-Lehigh series. The Leopards used the ground game to pound out a 27-7 triumph in the 150th meeting played in front of 50,000+ fans in Yankee Stadium. The team will gather on Friday to watch a replay of the 150th Meeting and will be recognized during Saturday's matchup. After the game, all Lafayette football alumni, family and friends are invited to a post-game at Pfenning Alumni Center.

On the Run vs. Sacred Heart: Lafayette rushed for 297 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 31-17 victory over Sacred Heart. Junior Jamar Curtis accounted for 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground. Troy Bruce added 83 yards and a score. Rookie QB Jason Penza contributed 49 rushing yards, while fellow QB Dean DeNobile got in on the action with a one-yard TD run. 

Runners' High: Lafayette's 297-yard rushing day was its highest output of the season. It also marked a season-high for Jamar Curtis (156), Troy Bruce (83) and Jason Penza (49).

Curtain Call for Curtis: With his 12th career 100-yard rushing game, Jamar Curtis moved into seventh place for career rushing yards with 2,534 (passing Jonathan Hurt '07 with 2,531) and career rushing touchdowns (24) (moving past Leonard Moore '99 with 22).

Breakups Are Hard: Senior CB Gabe DuBois leads the Patriot League with 11 pass breakups and 12 passes defended on the season. He registered four PBUs vs. Georgetown. He was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week (10/7) following the Fordham game in which he rang up nine tackles. He also had five pass breakups, including three on the final drive, to secure the victory. 

The Conference Race: Saturday's game is a must win for the Leopards to remain in the Patriot League title race. Lafayette sits at 1-1 in league play with a win over Fordham (28-23) and a loss to Georgetown (17-0). Holy Cross is 2-0 with wins over Colgate (38-7) and Fordham (19-16). 

With a Win on Saturday, Lafayette Would: 
• notch program win No. 705
• make it two straight wins over Holy cross
• improve to 3-1 at home this season

Lining Up: Lafayette offensive line coach Kevin Baumann has used six different starting lineups in seven games this season due to significant injuries. By contrast, Lafayette employed one starting front five for all of 2023. The Leopards have used nine linemen as starters in the front five.

18 in 5: LB Preston Forney is making the most of his fifth year. The Texas native leads the team with 43 tackles, including  an eight-tackle performance vs. Georgetown. He managed a season-high 12 tackles at Fordham, where he registered two tackles for loss with a sack and a forced fumble.  

Moving Up the Charts: Junior WR Elijah Steward needs nine more catches to break into the Lafayette top 10 for career receptions. The economics major currently has 127 career catches, trailing Frank Corbo '85 with 128. With 1,603 career receiving yards, Steward is looking for 70 yards to move into the top 10 ahead of Quincy Miller '97.

Carasia's Career Campaign: Senior Chris Carasia sits tied for 10th place on Lafayette's career receiving touchdowns list. The Ocean Township, N.J. native reeled in TDs in the first five games of the 2024 season. Carasia secured four catches for 114 yards and a TD at Columbia (9/21). For the season, he has 24 receptions for 320 yards and five touchdowns. He is on pace to set single-season career highs in all three categories (previously with 32 receptions for 333 yards and five scores in 2023). 

Ahead of Schedule: John Troxell '94 is in his third season at the helm of his alma mater's football program, and by all accounts the revitalization of Lafayette football is ahead of schedule. In 2023, Lafayette won a Patriot League title and advanced to the NCAA playoffs after posting the most wins in a season in more than 40 years. The team went from 4-7 (3-3 PL) in year one (2022) to 9-3 (5-1 PL) in year two (2023). Both seasons were capped by wins over archrival Lehigh.

The Opponent: Holy Cross (3-5, 2-0) enters week nine against the Leopards with Patriot League title implications on the line. The Crusaders dropped a one-point decision to Harvard last week, but have picked up wins against Fordham, Colgate and Bryant.
    Senior QB Joe Pesansky leads the offense, completing 60 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,789 yards and 14 TDs. Junior WR Max Mosey has been a go-to target, hauling in 25 passes for 536 yards and four TDs. On the ground, soph. RB Jayden Clerveaux has scampered for 537 yards and six TDs, including running for 150 yards in each of his last two games. Clerveaux stepped in for injured All-American Jordan Fuller who played in just three games. 
    Senior LB Frankie Monte, the team's leading tackler with 77, and junior DL Christian Ross lead a defense that has racked up 18 sacks. Ross has 20 tackles and two sacks alongside senior Kevin Gillis with a team-best four sacks.
    Dan Curran (New Hampshire '99) is in the midst of his first season as the head coach of the Crusaders after spending the previous 11 seasons at Merrimack.

The Last Time They Met: Lafayette churned out a 38-35 Patriot League win over No. 11 Holy Cross on Oct. 21, 2023. Jamar Curtis carried the ball 30 times for 229 yards and punched in a pair of scores. For Lafayette it was the first triumph over a nationally-ranked team since 2013 and it snapped Holy Cross' 18-game Patriot League win streak. 
     The Leopards controlled the game from start to finish thanks to a balanced offensive attack and a defense that made timely plays. Leopard offensive coordinator T.J. DiMuzio paired Curtis' 229 yards (the most for a Leopard since 2014) with an efficient effort from QB Dean DeNobile, who was 12-of-17 for 262 yards with a pair of passing touchdowns and one more on the ground.
    Defensively, Marco Olivas finished with a team-high nine tackles while Saiku White and Billy Shaeffer added seven apiece with Shaeffer contributing 1.5 sacks. 
    Holy Cross' Matthew Sluka ran for a school-record 330 yards and three touchdowns in the game while Jordan Fuller added 95.