The Columbia Lions take on the Lafayette Leopards in Easton, Pennsylvania. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Lafayette is favored by -2.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -134. The total is set at 51.5 points.
Here’s my Columbia vs. Lafayette predictions and college football picks for Friday, September 19, 2025.
Columbia vs. Lafayette Prediction
- Columbia vs. Lafayette Pick: Lafayette -2.5
My Lafayette vs Columbia best bet is on the Leopards spread. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Columbia vs. Lafayette Odds
| Columbia Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2.5 -110 | 51.5 -110o / -110u | +112 |
| Lafayette Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2.5 -110 | 51.5 -110o / -110u | -134 |
- Columbia vs. Lafayette point spread: Lafayette -2.5
- Columbia vs. Lafayette over/under: 51.5 points
- Columbia vs. Lafayette moneyline: Lafayette -134, Columbia +112
Columbia vs. Lafayette Preview
Columbia Lions Betting Preview: Retooling on Offense
Columbia opens its season on Friday after one of the more successful football campaigns in program history. The Lions took home a share of the Ivy League for the first time in 63 years.
This Columbia team has been built on a solid foundation of tough defensive football, which helped pave the way for the Lions to lead the Ivy League in scoring defense (16.1 PPG) and finish No. 3 overall in total defense in 2024.
This year, only four starters are back and nine of the top 10 tacklers are gone, but the stop unit is led by Justin Townsend and Jack Smiechowski, who bring back experience and production at defensive end and linebacker, respectively.
The secondary lost significant production — including Carter McFadden and Hayden McDonald — so the pass coverage unit is likely to suffer this year while breaking in new pieces.
With all of the positive talk surrounding the Columbia defense, the offense (20.7 PPG) was a struggle at times in 2024. Most of the struggles were in the red zone, as Columbia experienced some turmoil at the quarterback position due to poor play and injuries.
Chase Goodwin and Caleb Sanchez figure to split reps this season — as they did last year — and much more will be put on the shoulders of the signal caller with bell-cow running back Joey Giorgi gone.
The offensive line appears to be in good shape, but Columbia does lose three of its top producing pass catchers from a season ago.
There appears to be some retooling needed for the Lions to be productive offensively this season in the Ivy League.
Lafayette Leopards Betting Preview: Inexperience on Defense
Lafayette comes in off a pair of back-and-forth high-scoring victories against Georgetown and Stonehill.
The Leopards have received improved quarterback play from Dean DeNobile, who's thrown for 535 yards and three touchdowns on the season.
The ground game has been a pleasant surprise with Kente Edwards averaging 10 yards per carry and recording seven touchdowns. The Leopards are averaging 222 yards per game rushing this season.
The inexperience and youth on the defensive side has shown, as Lafayette has had a propensity to surrender points and yards in bunches.
Pass coverage has been an issue, as Lafayette has surrendered 631 passing yards and five scores through the air the last two weeks.
Ryan Gadson and Avery Jones are tied for the team lead in tackles this season, but Kevin Dodard has also played really well in the secondary for Lafayette.
Columbia vs. Lafayette Pick, Betting Analysis
I'm going to lay the -2.5 with Lafayette in its home opener.
This Lafayette group has played pretty good football the last three weeks on the road, and even defensively, they've been in a good positioning, despite giving up a ton of points the last two weeks.
Lafayette has had two defensive fumble return touchdowns against it in the last two weeks and both Stonehill and Georgetown have forced turnovers, which set up short scoring drives against the Leopards.
Columbia is missing several key pieces on its defensive unit, which carried this group the last couple of seasons. I would expect the Leopards to use the ground game to gash the Lions and wear down the defensive line, which is replacing both defensive tackles from a season ago.
Lafayette isn't afraid to take deep shots and the trio of Carson Persing, Elijah Steward and Mason Kuehner at receiver is solid (all have receptions of 45 yards or longer to their credit this season).
The explosive chunk plays in the pass game should set the Leopards up with several red zone opportunities, where they're cashing in for touchdowns 75% of the time.
Columbia hasn’t played yet, and it's going to look a little different this year. The offensive production is expected to drop, as the Lions will be breaking in new skill position players and are still sorting out who will be the primary quarterback.
I trust the Lafayette defense to continue to tackle well and be in position to defend against a below average Ivy League offensive platoon.
Lafayette has been in strong positions in the second halves of its FCS games this season, as the Leopards were up 42-6 in the second half against Stonehill and held a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter against Georgetown on the road.
Lafayette is playing in its home opener and playing with revenge off of a Columbia defeat from last season.
Pick: Lafayette -2.5
