Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey football team will travel to New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Rowan University Saturday looking to play a complete 60 minutes and capture their first win of the season.
 
The Lions (0-5, 0-4 NJAC) will match-up with the Profs (3-2, 2-2 NJAC) for the 59th time Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM. TCNJ dropped its most recent contest 21-17 to Monclair State University after holding a 17-7 halftime lead. The Lions have held a lead in three of their five contests this season. Rowan is coming off a bye week, but was shut out the week prior 30-0 by Christopher Newport University. It was the first time the Profs had been shutout since 2015, when they were blanked by the Lions 20-0.

Shutouts have been a recent theme in the series as the Profs returned the favor with a 17-0 win a year ago. The Lions will need to stop wide receiver Jamel Smith. Smith torched the Lions a year ago for 85 yards on three catches, taking one for a touchdown. The Lions held the Profs to 4.0 yards per carry, but the 37 attempts added up to 147 yards on the ground for Rowan. TCNJ struggled on the offensive side in the game, gaining just 193 yards of total offense.

The Lions have turned around the passing game this season thanks to the connection between Trevor Osler (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) and Thomas Koenig (Bayville, NJ/Central Regional). Koenig has set career-high receiving totals in back-to-back games with 142 yards against Salisbury and 181 against Montclair State. Osler set a career-high in passing yards with 308 against the Red Hawks. The Profs defense is led by Kevin Stokes, who ranks fourth in the NJAC with 4.5 sacks and third in the conference with 10.5 tackles for loss. 

TCNJ will need to stop Anthony Diorio to win this weekend. Diorio is averaging 4.8 yards per carry and is second in the conference at 94.8 yards per game. John Mannion also ranks in the top ten in the NJAC at 50 yards per game. Max Busca (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) leads the Lions with 43 tackles, while defensive back Xavier Santos (Westampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) has 4.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage to pace TCNJ. Shane Kelley (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) and Jesse Streb (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) have also been disruptive forces in the backfield with 4.0 and 3.5 tackles for loss respectively.

Following Saturday's game, the Lions will return to Ewing for homecoming against Kean University at 2:00 PM. The game is the middle of a triple-header against the Cougars with men's soccer playing at 11:00 AM and field hockey playing at 7:00 PM.