Freshman Eddie Jordan Goes 13-for-13 as Lafayette Beats Fordham 31-17

Thirteen throws. Thirteen completions. For a freshman making the second start of his college career, on the road, in a game his team trailed at halftime, that is about as clean as an afternoon gets.

Eddie Jordan completed every pass he attempted for 199 yards, threw a touchdown and ran for another, and Lafayette pulled away from Fordham for a 31-17 Patriot League win on Oct. 24 at Moglia Stadium at Jack Coffey Field in the Bronx.

The Leopards improved to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in league play. Fordham fell to 2-7 and 2-4. In front of 4,107 fans on a sunny, 58-degree afternoon, Lafayette scored the last 17 points of the game and held the Rams scoreless after halftime.

Fordham landed the first punches

For a half, this looked like Fordham's kind of game. The Rams took the opening score on a six-play, 70-yard drive, with senior running back Jamell James running it in from 12 yards out at the 4:32 mark of the first quarter.

Lafayette answered right away. Junior running back Jakyre Henley broke a 30-yard touchdown run with 1:18 left in the quarter to cap a six-play, 65-yard drive, and it was 7-7.

Fordham went back in front early in the second quarter. The Rams put together a 10-play, 71-yard march that ate up 5:59 of clock, and sophomore Yohan-Li Louis scored on a 4-yard run with 10:19 left in the half. It was 14-7.

Lafayette responded with a patient drive of its own, 10 plays and 63 yards over 5:01. Jordan finished it with a 6-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Mason Kuehner at the 5:11 mark, and the game was tied at 14.

Then Fordham made one more long push. The Rams went 72 yards in 14 plays, but they stalled close to the goal line and had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Bennett Henderson as time expired in the half. Fordham led 17-14 at the break. Those would be the Rams' last points.

The second half belonged to Lafayette

The Leopards took control quickly after halftime. They needed only four plays and 1:38 to cover 57 yards, and Henley capped it with a 1-yard touchdown run at the 9:52 mark of the third quarter. That put Lafayette ahead 21-17, and it never trailed again.

The drive that put the game away started at the Lafayette 10. The Leopards went 90 yards in 11 plays and chewed up 6:05, spanning the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth. Jordan finished it himself, running 16 yards for a touchdown with 14:10 left. It was 28-17.

Jack Simonetta added a 26-yard field goal with 3:58 remaining to cap a seven-play, 57-yard drive, and that closed the scoring at 31-17. Simonetta was also perfect on all four extra points.

Perfect is the right word

There are good passing days, and then there is 13-of-13. Jordan did not throw an incompletion all afternoon, and he did it while leading touchdown drives of 63 and 90 yards and a field goal drive late in the fourth quarter. His touchdown pass to Kuehner came on a drive where Lafayette needed points to keep pace, and his 16-yard scoring run came on a drive where Lafayette needed to put the game out of reach.

The efficiency matters more than the volume. Thirteen attempts is not a lot, and Lafayette did not need it to be. Henley punched in the 1-yard score, and Jordan made every throw count when the Leopards did pass. Carson Persing was the leading receiver with 89 yards, and Kuehner caught the touchdown.

For a freshman in his second career start, playing on the road in a league game, it is hard to ask for much more.

Henley keeps finding the end zone

Henley was the other half of the story. He finished with 67 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns, his third straight game with two rushing scores. His 30-yarder in the first quarter answered Fordham's opening touchdown before the Rams could build any real momentum, and his 1-yard plunge in the third quarter gave Lafayette a lead it never gave back.

Three straight games with two rushing touchdowns is the kind of streak that gives an offense an identity. With a freshman quarterback still finding his footing, having a back who reliably finishes drives is a major asset.

Smith put up numbers, but not points

Fordham did not lose because its passing game went quiet. Senior quarterback Gunnar Smith threw for a season-high 309 yards on 28-of-40 passing, and Ricky Gonzalez II had a career day with 11 catches for 129 yards, both career highs.

But yardage and points are not the same thing, and Fordham found that out in the second half. After putting up 17 points before the break, the Rams were shut out over the final 30 minutes. The ground game never got going either. Louis led the team with 43 yards on 13 carries, and James had 37 yards on 10 attempts.

The closest Fordham came to cashing in late in the first half ended in a short field goal rather than a touchdown, and that four-point swing loomed large once Lafayette started scoring.

The defense held the line

Lafayette's defense deserves credit for the second-half shutout. Sophomore linebacker Beckham Dee led the Leopards with 10 tackles. Junior linebacker Paul Widerman added nine tackles and a tackle for loss, and sophomore defensive lineman Daniel Adefolarin had eight tackles and a sack.

Smith threw it 40 times, and Fordham piled up passing yards, but the Leopards kept the Rams out of the end zone when it mattered. After allowing 17 points in the first half, they gave up none in the second.

For Fordham, senior linebacker Andrew Osmun led the defense with 11 tackles and a tackle for loss, and sophomore defensive lineman Tyler Davis had five tackles and a sack.

The numbers that matter

The scoring summary tells the story. Fordham's three scoring drives all came in the first half and covered 70, 71 and 72 yards. Lafayette's five scoring drives were spread across all four quarters, and the two biggest ones came after halftime: the four-play, 57-yard touchdown drive to take the lead and the 11-play, 90-yard drive to put it away.

Lafayette scored in every quarter, 7-7-7-10. Fordham scored 7 and 10 in the first two quarters and nothing after that. Jordan's 13-of-13 day, Henley's two touchdowns and a defense that blanked Fordham after the break were enough to turn a three-point halftime deficit into a two-touchdown win. The full stat sheet is in the official box score (opens in a new tab).

What it means

At 2-2 in league play, Lafayette is right in the middle of a crowded Patriot League table. Lehigh and Richmond are on top at 4-1, with Holy Cross, Georgetown, Colgate and Villanova all at 3-2 after Week 8. The Leopards are not in the title chase yet, but a freshman quarterback who plays like this gives them a reason to believe the back half of the season can look different from the front half.

For Fordham, it was a close-but-not-enough afternoon in a difficult season. Smith and Gonzalez gave the Rams plenty to build on, but at 2-7 the focus now shifts to finishing strong and developing the players who will carry the program next fall.

The Patriot League recap (opens in a new tab) has the rest of the Week 8 results.

The last word

Fordham had the halftime lead and the bigger passing numbers. Lafayette had the quarterback who did not miss. Thirteen throws, thirteen completions, and a second half that was all Leopards. For a team still figuring out who it is, that is a strong place to start.

Sources: the Patriot League's Week 8 recap and the official box score. More college football coverage on Undrafted.