Patriot League title to be decided by The Rivalry Game between Lafayette and Lehigh

PatriotFB Notebook (.PDF)
 
THE RIVALRY 161, COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S MOST-PLAYED RIVALRY GAME, TO DECIDE PATRIOT LEAGUE CROWN
No. 24 Lafayette and No. 4 Lehigh meet for the 161st time in series history (Lafayette leads, 82-73-5) with the 2025 Patriot League title on the line at Fisher Stadium on Saturday. The winner will earn the outright League title and automatic berth in the 2025 FCS Playoffs. The Leopards and Mountain Hawks, currently tied at 6-0 in League play, will also meet as ranked teams for the first time in the Patriot League era.
 
RICHMOND TAKES ON WILLIAM & MARY IN THE 136th MEETING OF THE “OLDEST RIVALRY IN THE SOUTH”
Richmond meets future Patriot League foe William & Mary for the 136th time when they play for the Capital Cup on Saturday. The Spiders lead the series, 66-64-5 in a rivalry that began in 1898. The Richmond-W&M series is the fourth-most-played rivalry in college football, behind Lafayette-Lehigh (161 meetings), Princeton-Yale (147) and Harvard-Yale (140).
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE WEEK THIRTEEN GAMES
•Georgetown and Holy Cross will play at Fenway Park, home of the MLB’s Boston Red Sox. The Crusaders return to Fenway for the first time since 1956, while the Hoyas return for the first time since 1940.
•Colgate hosts Bucknell in a meeting between the League’s two best passing offenses. Colgate leads the League and is 10th in the FCS, averaging 277.0 passing yards per game. Bucknell is second in the PL and 26th in the FCS (245.0 ypg).
•Fordham travels to Merrimack looking to split the series, which began with a Warriors’ win in 2024.
 
2025 Patriot League Football Standings (as of November 19)

School	PL	PL Pct.	Overall	Overall Pct.
No. 4/4 Lehigh	6-0	1.000	11-0	1.000
No. 24/rv Lafayette	6-0	1.000	8-3	.727
Georgetown	3-3	.500	6-5	.545
Richmond	3-4	.429	6-5	.545
Colgate	2-4	.333	4-7	.364
Holy Cross	2-4	.333	2-9	.182
Bucknell	2-4	.333	5-6	.455
Fordham	1-6	.143	1-10	.091

ONLINE SCHEDULE | ONLINE STATS
 
LEHIGH EXTENDS FCS-LONG WIN STREAK TO REMAIN NO. 4; LAFAYETTE CLIMBS TO NO. 24, EARNS FCS TEAM OF THE WEEK
Lehigh remained No. 4 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and Stats Perform Poll for the third straight week, as head coach Kevin Cahill and the Mountain Hawks extended their FCS-long regular-season winning streak to 16 games to remain as one of five undefeated teams in the FCS. Lafayette climbed one spot to No. 24 in the AFCA Coaches Poll after a 35-28 win at Richmond last week. The Leopards’ win helped them earn Stats Perform National FCS Team of the Week honors after improving to 6-0 in Patriot League play for the first time in program history. Lafayette is the second Patriot League team to earn the distinction this season, following Lehigh, which received the accolade after its Week Four win vs. Bucknell.
 
EDWARDS AND YODER AMONG FCS RUSHING LEADERS
Lafayette Jr. RB Kente Edwards posted his second straight career-high rushing effort with 265 yards in the Leopards’ 35-28 win at Richmond in Week 12 to climb to third in the FCS in rushing yards per game (144.1). The six-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week has three 200-yard performances this season and is fourth in the FCS with 17 rushing touchdowns. Lehigh Jr. RB Luke Yoder is ninth in the FCS, averaging 99.5 yards per game and 18th in the nation with 11 rushing touchdowns. Yoder has eclipsed 100 rushing yards in five games and has at least one rushing TD in eight of Lehigh’s 11 games. The two backs are also among the FCS leaders in yards per carry (ypc), with Edwards leading the nation at 8.21 ypc and Yoder ranking fifth at 6.52 ypc.
Rk. Name, School, Rush yds/gm.
3. Kente Edwards, Lafayette, 144.1
9. Luke Yoder, Lehigh, 99.5
43. Jaden Green, Lehigh, 69.3
46. Savion Hart, Georgetown, 68.2
 
FORDHAM’S CONWAY BREAKS NCAA DI TACKLES RECORD
Fordham Sr. LB James Conway made nine tackles in the Rams’ loss at Georgetown (Nov. 15) to give him 585 career total tackles, breaking the NCAA DI record, previously held by Troy LB Carlton Martial, who recorded 577 tackles from 2018-2022. Earlier this season, Conway tallied 16 tackles in the Rams’ loss vs. No. 7 Lehigh (Oct. 25) to surpass Illinois State’s Boomer Grigsby’s 21-year-old FCS career tackles record (550). Conway is the first League player to surpass 500 total tackles and just the fifth FCS player since 2000. He has recorded 149 tackles in 11 games to lead the FCS with 13.5 tackles per game.
 
FOUR LEAGUE RECEIVERS AMONG FCS TOP 20
Three Patriot League wide receivers rank among the top six in the FCS in receiving yards. Lehigh Sr. WR Geoffrey Jamiel caught nine passes for 138 yards and a score in a 27-7 win at Colgate in Week 12 to move up to third in the FCS and to record his first 1,000-yard season. Georgetown Sr. WR Jimmy Kibble has caught for 90 or more receiving yards in five of his last six games to rank fifth in the FCS with 978 yards. Bucknell Jr. WR Sam Milligan climbed to sixth in the FCS with a 154-yard, two-TD performance vs. Holy Cross in Week 12. He leads the League and ranks eighth in receiving touchdowns. Colgate Jr. WR Reed Swanson is fourth in the League and 22nd in the FCS with 806 yards. Jamiel and Swanson are 14th and 22nd in the FCS with eight and seven touchdown catches, respectively. Colgate Sr. WR Treyvhon Saunders is fifth in the League with 700 receiving yards despite not having played since Week Seven due to injury.
Rk. Name, School, Rec. Yds.       
3. Geoffrey Jamiel, Lehigh, 1,000
5. Jimmy Kibble, Georgetown, 978
6. Sam Milligan, Bucknell, 965
22. Reed Swanson, Colgate, 806
55. Treyvhon Saunders, Colgate, 700
 
THREE LEAGUE TEAMS AMONG FCS SACKS LEADERS
Lehigh leads the Patriot League and ranks fourth in the FCS with 3.55 sacks per game (spg) after posting 24.0 sacks in its last five games. The Mountain Hawks are led by Sr. LB Tyler Ochojski (0.91) and Sr. DL Matt Spatny (0.89), who rank 10th and 12th, respectively, in the FCS in spg. Richmond is ninth in the nation, averaging 3.00 spg, with Sr. DL Donovan Hoilette leading them and ranking 19th in the FCS with 0.77 spg. Lafayette is 28th in the FCS, averaging 2.36 spg, led by Jr. DL Jaylon Joseph, who is fifth in the League with 0.68 spg.
Rk. School, Gm, Sacks/gm.         
4. Lehigh, 11, 3.55
9. Richmond, 11, 3.00
28. Lafayette, 11, 2.36
 
LEHIGH AND LAFAYETTE RANKED IN FCS SCORING TOP 25
Lafayette (33.7) and Lehigh (33.1) are 20th and 24th, respectively, in the FCS in scoring offense. The Leopards’ 62 points vs. Bucknell in Week Seven were their highest single-game total since 1944. Lehigh and Lafayette possess two of the best rushing attacks in the nation, with the Mountain Hawks ranking sixth in rushing offense (225.8), with 29 of its 47 TDs coming on the ground. The Leopards have been impressive on the ground, ranking 11th in rushing offense (210.2), with 30 rushing touchdowns out of 51 total trips to the end zone.
 
THREE LEAGUE QBS AMONG FCS PASSING TD LEADERS
Three Patriot League QBs rank among the FCS top 30 in passing touchdowns, leading into the final week of the regular season. Lafayette Sr. QB Dean DeNobile leads the Patriot League and ranks 21st in the FCS with 19 TD passes, with seven in the Leopards’ last two games and 16 in League play. Colgate Jr. QB Jake Stearney is 24th in the FCS with 18 TD passes, including 10 in League play. Lehigh So. QB Hayden Johnson is 28th in the FCS with 17 touchdown passes. The three QBs also lead the Patriot League and rank among the FCS top 40 in points responsible for, with Stearney (122 pts. responsible for) ranking 34th and DeNobile (120) and Johnson (120) tied for 35th.
FCS Rk. Name, School, TD Passes.
21. Dean DeNobile, Lafayette, 19
24. Jake Stearney, Colgate, 18
28. Hayden Johnson, Lehigh, 17
 
BRIGGS AND SMITH AMONG FCS INTERCEPTION LEADERS
Georgetown Jr., CB Quincy Briggs leads the Patriot League and is second in the FCS with five interceptions for 0.45 per game. Lehigh So. DB Mekhai Smith is second in the League and 17th in the nation with four interceptions (0.36 ipg). Two more League players, including Lafayette’s Ryan Gadson (0.33 ipg) and Richmond’s Lee Bruner IV (0.30 ipg), rank inside the FCS top 40. As a team, Colgate is sixth in the FCS with 13 interceptions, while Lafayette is 11th with 12.
Rk. Name, School, INTs./Gm.
2. Quincy Briggs, Georgetown, 0.45
17. Mekhai Smith, Lehigh, 0.36
29. Ryan Gadson, Lafayette, 0.33
36. Lee Bruner IV, Richmond, 0.30
 
CONWAY NAMED A DORIS ROBINSON AWARD FINALIST
Fordham Gr. LB James Conway was selected as one of 13 FCS finalists for the 2025 Doris Robinson Award, presented annually to the FCS’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The honor is in its 11th season, named for the former schoolteacher and wife of legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson. Conway is a four-time All-League selection, the NCAA DI career tackles leader, who earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing information systems with a 3.71 cumulative GPA and is pursuing his master’s in artificial intelligence in business. He has also been an involved member of the NYC community. Bucknell punter Alex Pechin won the Doris Robinson Award in 2019.
 
THREE LEAGUE WR’S ON FCS ACTIVE RECEPTIONS LIST
Colgate’s Treyvhon Saunders leads all active FCS pass catchers and is fifth in League history with 230 receptions, two behind Lehigh’s Ryan Spadola for fourth in the League record book. Lehigh Sr. WR Geoffrey Jamiel is third among FCS receivers with 220 career receptions, climbing to eighth on the League’s career top 10 list. Lafayette Sr. WR Elijah Steward is ninth with 176.
Rk. Name, School, Receptions
1. Treyvhon Saunders, Colgate, 230
3. Geoffrey Jamiel, Lehigh, 220
9. Elijah Steward, Lafayette, 176
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.