1983 Lafayette Leopards football team

The 1983 Lafayette Leopards football team was an American football team that represented Lafayette College as an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season.

1983 Lafayette Leopards football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Bill Russo (3rd season)
Captains	Rich Doverspike Frank Novak Craig Williams
Home stadium	Fisher Field
Seasons ← 1982 1984 →

1983 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Holy Cross ^			–					9	–	1	–	1
No. 17 Tennessee State			–					8	–	2	–	1
No. 7 Colgate ^			–					8	–	3	–	0
Lehigh			–					8	–	3	–	0
Lafayette			–					6	–	4	–	0
Northeastern			–					6	–	4	–	1
Southeastern Louisiana			–					6	–	5	–	0
William & Mary			–					6	–	5	–	0
Nicholls State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Bucknell			–					4	–	5	–	1
Cincinnati			–					4	–	6	–	1
Delaware			–					4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern State			–					4	–	7	–	0
James Madison			–					3	–	8	–	0
Richmond			–					3	–	8	–	0
Western Kentucky			–					2	–	8	–	1
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

In their third year under head coach Bill Russo, the Leopards compiled a 6–5 record.^[1] Rich Doverspike, Frank Novak and Craig Williams were the team captains.^[2]

Starting the season with a four-game win streak, the Leopards made it into the Division I-AA weekly national rankings in the middle of the campaign, but were unranked by season's end.

Lafayette played its home games at Fisher Field on College Hill in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	East Stroudsburg		Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 20–14	7,500	^[3]
September 17	at Davidson		Richardson Stadium Davidson, NC	W 35–12	2,600	^[4]
September 24	Columbia	No. 17	Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 34–29	10,750	^[5]
October 1	Bucknell	No. 15	Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 33–3	9,200	^[6]
October 8	Maine	No. 12	Fisher Field Easton, PA	L 38–39	6,800	^[7]
October 15	at Penn	No. 17	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	L 20–28	6,038	^[8]
October 22	at James Madison		Madison Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 31–14	12,800	^[9]
October 29	Colgate		Fisher Field Easton, PA	L 7–21	10,700	^[10]
November 5	at Princeton		Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ	L 33–41	10,117	^[11]
November 12	Kutztown		Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 28–13		^[1]
November 19	at Lehigh		Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA (The Rivalry)	L 14–22	19,000	^[12]
Homecoming Rankings from the latest NCAA Division I-AA poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Lafayette Football 1963-1986". 2019 Lafayette Football Record Book (PDF). Easton, Pa.: Lafayette College. p. 104. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
2. "Team Captains 1882-2019". 2019 Lafayette Football Record Book (PDF). Easton, Pa.: Lafayette College. p. 97. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
3. Meixell, Ted (September 11, 1983). "Lafayette Tops ESU -- 20-14". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Sorensen, Tom (September 20, 1981). "Lafayette Bursts Davidson's Bubble". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, N.C. p. 11C – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Lafayette 34, Columbia 29". Times Leader. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Associated Press. September 27, 1983. p. 7C – via Newspapers.com.
6. Markowitz, Marc (October 2, 1983). "Lafayette Defense Gets In on the Fun in 33-3 Win". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Haskell, Bob (October 10, 1983). "Leone FG Upsets Lafayette". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Bruton, Mike (October 16, 1983). "Penn Tops Lafayette, 28-20, to Defend the Ivies' Honor". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 9-E, 12-E – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Lafayette Capitalizes on Mistakes to Win". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. October 23, 1983. p. C4 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Erenberg Sparks Colgate". The Sunday Press. Binghamton, N.Y. October 30, 1983. pp. 4C, 2C – via Newspapers.com.
11. Markowitz, Marc (November 6, 1983). "Princeton Rally Tops Lafayette 41-33". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C4 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Will-Weber, Mark (November 20, 1983). "Lehigh Holds Off Lafayette 22-14". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.