Butler opens Pioneer Football League play Saturday, traveling to San Diego for a 5 p.m. (Eastern, 2 p.m. Pacific) kick-off. San Diego will stream the game through its web site and links are available on ButlerSports.com.

The Bulldogs are 2-1 on the season, coming off a dramatic 27-21 victory over Taylor Saturday night in the closing minutes of the contest. After leading for much of the game, Taylor took a 21-20 lead in the fourth quarter, but quarterback Will Marty was able to orchestrate a late drive that included a one-yard touchdown run with seven seconds remaining.

Marty completed 32 of 48 attempts in the game, throwing for 253 yards and one touchdown. That performance came one week after posting 313 yards in the win over Franklin. His 313 passing yards were one short of his career-high 314 that he posted in the 2016 game against Marist.

Eight of those 32 completions went to Nick Weaver, which represented a career-best for the receiver. Marty and James Marbaugh connected on the first touchdown reception of his career as Marty spread his 32 completions among nine receivers. Freshman Cam Cooper had career-bests of four catches for 43 yards.

Cooper has played a key role in the return game, averaging 21.5 and 8.4 yards, respectively, on kick-off and punt returns this season. He had season-best returns in Saturday's win over Taylor (37 yards on a kick-off return and 32 yards on a punt return). He has 59 return yards on seven punts this season; by contrast, Butler has allowed a total of seven yards on six punts.

Butler has averaged 34:02 per game in time of possession, a conference best. That is highlighted by Butler's offense having the ball for 44:21 minutes Sept. 9 at Franklin. Franklin had possession of the ball for only 4:22 of the second half's 30 minutes.

The Bulldogs have allowed only one sack on the season, tied for the PFL lead.

Butler has converted all five of its fourth-down attempts this season, while their opponents are 3-for-3 on fourth down as well. The Bulldogs have also scored in all nine red zone possessions, including seven touchdowns.

Pace Temple, a preseason All-Pioneer Football League selection, had eight catches for a career-best 156 yards at Franklin Sept. 9. It was his fourth career 100-yard game. Temple had 978 receiving yards in 2016, which was 24^th in FCS.

Redshirt senior Duvante Lane led the ground attack at Franklin, posting 117 yards on 26 carries. He had two touchdowns in addition to a single reception of 16 yards. It was Lane's third career 100-yard rushing game of his career. His career-high of 29 carries and 156 yards came against Valparaiso in 2016. Lane joined Temple as a preseason All-PFL honoree after finding the end zone nine times last season. Lane, averaging 60 yards rushing per game this season, is fifth in the category among PFL backs.

For the second consecutive game, senior Isaak Newhouse led the Bulldogs with nine tackles at Franklin. That performance followed a 14-tackle (12 solo) game against Illinois State in the 2017 opener. Newhouse averages 9.3 tackles per game this season, which is tied for fourth in the PFL. Ethan Brunhofer led the Bulldogs with eight tackles Saturday against Taylor.

Brunhofer joined Newhouse as honorable mention All-PFL choices last season. Brunhofer is the team's leading returning tackler with 74 a season ago, including a career-high 12 in the game against Marist. Fellow linebackers David Starkey and Sean Horan had 77 and 75, respectively, before graduating.

Luke Sennett grabbed the first interception of his Butler career in the win over Franklin. Josh Willis had 1.5 sacks, including combining efforts with Chad Burdo on a nine-yard sack that resulted in a safety on Franklin's first possession of the game.

Marty, Lane and Newhouse join defensive lineman Connor Andras as the team's four seniors for the 2017 campaign.

Voris, in his 12^th season on the Butler sidelines, enters Saturday's contest with a 66-61 mark at Butler.

This will be the 23rd meeting between San Diego and Butler with the Toreros owning a 17-5 series lead. The Toreros enter Saturday's game riding a 27-game PFL home winning streak.

Butler was picked to finish seventh in the Pioneer Football League preseason poll. The conference's 11 head coaches voted in the poll and were not allowed to vote for their own team. San Diego was picked as the preseason favorite.

Butler continues conference play next weekend, hosting Drake (Saturday, Sept. 30).