The Match-Up: Lafayette stays on the road for week two, traveling down the shore to West Long Branch, N.J., to take on Monmouth. This is the second straight season that the Leopards have played Monmouth, winning 28-20 in week four of 2023.
    Lafayette and Monmouth kicked off their 2024 seasons on Aug. 29, with the Leopards dropping a 30-13 decision vs. FBS foe Buffalo and Monmouth losing a 
42-27 decision at Eastern Washington, a team receiving top 25 votes.

National Rankings: Lafayette was picked 18th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FCS Coaches preseason poll and 17th in the Stats Perform preseason poll. The Leopards finished the 2023 season ranked 18th and 20th, respectively, rising as high as No. 16 in the national polls. 
    After week one, Lafayette dropped two spots to 19th in the Stats Perform poll and one spot to 19th in the AFCA Coaches Poll. 

Closing in On the Top 10: With 1,937 yards and 16 career rushing TD's, junior RB Jamar Curtis needs 221 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to break into Lafayette's all-time top 10 in both categories. 

Blocked By Bruce: Soph. Troy Bruce added a second punt block to his career against Buffalo. Coming off the edge, the Center Point, Ala. native stuffed the Bulls' punt and set up the Leopards' first score of the game. His first career punt block came in a 56-22 victory vs. Bucknell in 2023. The civil engineering major was one of two players (Jaylon Joseph) to block a punt in 2023.

Preseason All-Patriot League: The Maroon and White had a league-best nine players selected for the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Junior Jamar Curtis headlines the offense, named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, joining  QB Dean DeNobile, WR Elijah Steward, TE Dallas Holmes, OL Ryder Langsdale and OL Brian Baucia. On defense, the 2023 Patriot League Rookie of the Year Jaylon Joseph earned a spot along with S Saiku White and CB A.T. Ntantang. 

FBS Foes: The Aug. 29 season opener at Buffalo was the Leopards' lone FBS opponent in 2024. Last year, the Maroon and White traveled to No. 21 Duke in week two. Lafayette has sprinkled in FBS opponents intermittently over the last seven seasons, playing Army in 2016 and 2018, Air Force in 2021 and Temple in 2022. Lafayette's last win against a current FBS team was 1971, a 13-7 final at Rutgers.

An Empire State of Schedule: In a quirk of Lafayette's schedule, the Leopards will face five opponents from New York state in 2024. Lafayette opened the season at Buffalo and will play Marist in the home opener in week three followed by Columbia and Fordham in weeks four and five, before traveling to Colgate on Nov. 9. 

A Championship Season: 2023 was a breakthrough/standout season for the Leopards. 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, securing Patriot 
    League Coach and Rookie of the Year honors along with 12 all-league selections
    • saw four players earn All-America status while three were finalists for the major 
    national player of the year awards
    • locked down the program's first winning season since 2013
    • appeared in the Top 25  for the first time since 2009 (rising as high as No. 16)
    • 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)

The Patriot Poll: Lafayette was a unanimous selection to repeat as Patriot League champions in 2024 when the preseason poll was announced July 24. The poll, voted on by conference coaches and sports information directors, saw the Leopards receive all 12 of the first-place votes, good for 72 points. Behind Lafayette were Holy Cross (56), Fordham (53), Colgate (46), Georgetown (27), Lehigh (24) and Bucknell (24) announced on July 24. In 2023, Lafayette was selected fourth in the preseason poll and finished first. 
A Stack of Sacks: The Leopards finished 2023 fifth the nation in sacks per game (3.1) and ranked 16th in tackles for loss (7.0). Lafayette piled up seven sacks each against Princeton, Bucknell and Monmouth. For the season, 12 different players were able to get home, with Billy Shaeffer (10) and Tim O'Hearn (4.5) and Blamassi Meite (4.5) leading the way.

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. 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.
    Troxell was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year in 2023 and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. 

Under Center: Junior Dean DeNobile started 11 games in 2023, earning All-Patriot League Second-Team honors. DeNobile completed 170-of-255 (67%) for 1,997 yards and 20 touchdowns with just five interceptions. DeNobile broke his ankle in the second half of the Leopards' FCS playoff game vs. Delaware but made his return for 2024 spring ball.
    In the 2024 season opener, the Leopards' career completion percentage leader completed 23-of-33 for 162 yards with a TD and two picks.
    Soph. Tray Mauney took over QB2 position after training camp and saw his first significant reps during the 2024 spring season. In high school, Mauney completed 304-of-536 for 4,718 yards with 41 touchdowns to 14 interceptions and carried the ball 131 times for 863 yards and 11 touchdowns. In the opener, Mauney played the final series of the game.
    Rookie Jason Penza, an Academic All-State selection, threw for nearly 3,000 yards and ran for 565 more to finish his high school career with 37 touchdowns. He sits third on the depth chart.

The Opponent: Monmouth dropped its season opener 42-27 on Aug. 29 at Eastern. EWU scored on four straight possessions across the second and third quarters to pull away.
    Maine transfer QB Derek Robertson put up solid numbers in his Hawks' debut, completing 27-of-47 for 390 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Robertson connected with senior WR T.J. Speight for five balls for 97 yards and hit three other players for touchdowns. The Hawks ran for 49 rushing yards, but gave up 265 rushing yards. 
    Defensively, Monmouth saw production from soph. S Deuce Lee (12 tackles, 8 solo) and junior LB Sam Korpoi (10 tackles).  
    Monmouth is coached by Kevin Callahan, the only coach in the program's history. The Univ. of Rochester graduate is on the sidelines for his 32nd season.
    Monmouth is on the road for its next two games, traveling to  Maine for the CAA opener and the on to FBS foe Florida International before returning to New Jersey for a four-game homestand. 

Familiar Faces on the Sidelines: Lafayette offensive coordinator T.J. DiMuzio was on Monmouth's staff for eight seasons (2014-21) under Kevin Callahan, joining the program as the wide receivers coach before working as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in his last two campaigns. Current Monmouth wide receivers coach Kevin Callahan Jr. worked on the Lafayette staff in 2019, coaching the running backs.

Last Time They Met: Lafayette and Monmouth last faced off in week four of the 2023 season (9/23) in Easton, Pa. Lafayette QB Dean DeNobile turned in a stellar performance, accounting for two touchdowns on the ground and two through the air. Leopards' TB Jamar Curtis ran for 143 yards on 28 attempts, reaching his third 100-plus yard rushing game of the year. After a relatively quiet first half, the Monmouth offense came alive in the third quarter, with QB Marquez McCray finding Dymere Miller for a touchdown followed by a two-point conversion that cut Lafayette's advantage to 21-14 entering the fourth. With the Hawks threatening to score in the last two minutes of the contest, Jaylon Joseph and Tim O'Hearn came up in the clutch with sacks that ran the Leopards' total to seven on the day and helped to seal a 28-20 win. 

Captains X Four: Seniors Preston Forney, Ryder Langsdale, Saiku White and junior Dean DeNobile were selected as the four recipients of Chris LaPietra '89 Captain Award for the 143rd season.
    White's selection marked the second straight year the safety has received the captaincy. He has started 26 career games, including every game the past two seasons, entering 2024. The Atlanta native finished with 77 tackles and led the Patriot League with four interceptions in 2023 on his way to All-Patriot League First-Team honors and an Associated Press All-America Third-Team selection.
    Forney, who hails from Southlake, Texas, is suiting up for his fifth year at Lafayette. He started all 12 games in 2023 and was one of four players to finish the season with 70-plus tackles, including 8.0 TFL and three sacks.
    Langsdale and DeNobile will exhibit their leadership on the other side of the line. From Ridgewood, N.J., Langsdale is the anchor of the O-line, starting every game in 2022 and 2023 at left tackle. He was an All-Patriot League Second-Team honoree and 2024 Preseason All-Patriot League selection who paved the way for the Leopards' potent rushing attack. 
    Fellow New Jersey native DeNobile started 11 games, throwing for 1,997 yards while completing 20 touchdowns to five interceptions. The 2023 All-Patriot League Second-Team honoree and 2024 Preseason All-Patriot League selection connected on 170-of-255 (67 percent), good enough for 13th in the nation in completion percentage (67%) and 14th in passing efficiency (154.4)