Game Notes (PDF)

The Bulldogs return to the Sellick Bowl Saturday afternoon, hosting Jacksonville in a Pioneer Football League match-up. The kick-off is set for Noon.

The game will be streamed through Facebook Live on the ButlerBulldogs page. Mark Minner will handle play-by-play duties, and production will be handled through a partnership with Butler's College of Communication.

Butler is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in PFL play following a 44-6 win at Morehead State over the weekend. Jacksonville is one of three PFL teams still undefeated in league play (2-0), and is 4-1 on the season.

This is the 11^th meeting in the series between the two programs. Jacksonville holds an unofficial 8-2 advantage in the match-ups, but vacated results from 2010-14. The teams first met in 2005. Butler and Jacksonville did not play during the 2016 and 2015 seasons (Butler also did not face PFL opponent Stetson in those years). In the most recent match-up, Jacksonville won, 35-7, on Sept. 27, 2014 in Indianapolis.

Butler's rushing attack featured 253 yards and three different Bulldogs accounting for six touchdowns as the Bulldogs overpowered Morehead State, 44-6, Saturday afternoon at Jayne Stadium in Morehead, Ky. The victory was the largest PFL win for the Bulldogs since a 72-12 victory over Valparaiso on Nov. 9, 2013.

Redshirt senior Duvante Lane had 99 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Lane's 32-yard touchdown run with 54 seconds remaining in the first half sent the teams into the locker room with the Bulldogs leading, 24-0. The lead grew to 44-0 early in the fourth quarter after a three-yard scoring run from Sam Schrader and two more touchdowns by Lane.

Lane is sixth in the PFL in rushing at 61.5 yards per game. His five touchdowns are fourth in the conference. Lane led the ground attack at Franklin Sept. 9, posting 117 yards on 26 carries. It was Lane's third career 100-yard rushing game. His career-high of 29 carries and 156 yards came against Valparaiso in 2016. Lane was a preseason All-PFL honoree after finding the end zone nine times last season.

It was Lane's backfield mate Anthony Scaccia who registered the first two touchdowns of the game at Morehead State, scoring from two yards and 19 yards in the first quarter as Butler built a 14-0 lead. Scaccia had 80 total yards (45 rushing and 35 receiving) on the day.

Behind the running game, Butler held the ball for 38:25 in the contest. The Bulldogs had 25 first downs compared to 14 for the host Eagles, and had a 437-230 advantage in total yards.

Butler leads the PFL in time of possession (33:06). 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.

Butler scored on five of six trips to the red zone Saturday, including four touchdowns. The Bulldogs are second in red zone offense, scoring on 90 percent of their trips inside the 20 this season. The Bulldogs have scored on 18 of 20 red zone possessions, including 13 touchdowns.

The Bulldogs' defense played a huge role in Saturday's win at Morehead State by causing seven fumbles (recovering five), grabbing an interception, and sacking the MSU quarterback four times. Those turnovers led to 20 Butler points.  

On the season, Butler's eight fumble recoveries lead the PFL and are third in the country. The Bulldogs have only committed three turnovers on the season (all interceptions), and that figure is third in FCS while also leading the conference.

Linebacker Xavier Colvin had two sacks, five tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery at Morehead State Saturday. Zach Bacon and Ethan Brunhofer each added sacks. Bacon's resulted in a fumble, while Brunhofer caused two fumbles. Austin Lewis picked up the first interception of his Butler career in the closing minute of the game.

Isaak Newhouse led the Bulldogs with nine tackles, including five solo stops. His 9.5 tackles per game and 6.5 solo tackles per game are third and first, respectively, in the PFL. Newhouse has led the Bulldogs in tackles in four of the team's six games. He had 11 tackles (eight solo) at San Diego Sept. 23. That performance followed a 14-tackle (12 solo) game against Illinois State in the 2017 opener.

Brunhofer led the Bulldogs with eight tackles in the game against Taylor Sept. 16. 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.

Will Marty threw for 176 yards at Morehead State, connecting with Pace Temple three times for 75 yards.

Temple, a junior, has picked up right where he left off as a sophomore. Temple has accumulated 582 receiving yards through the team's six games so far this season. He has eclipsed 100 yards three times in 2017 and has six 100-yard performances during his career.

Temple had seven grabs for 138 yards in the Sept. 30 loss to Drake. That followed his eight catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns Sept. 23 at San Diego. His career-high of 156 receiving yards came at Franklin Sept. 9. Temple now has 111 career receptions.  

Temple's 582 receiving yards lead the PFL and are ninth nationally. His 97.0 yards per game and 18.2 yards per reception are both second in the conference. The preseason All-Pioneer Football League selection had 978 receiving yards in 2016, which was 24^th in FCS.

In its last non-conference game of the season, Butler posted a dramatic 27-21 victory over Taylor (Sept. 16) in the closing minutes. After leading for much of the game, Taylor took a 21-20 lead in the fourth quarter, but Marty was able to orchestrate a late drive that included a one-yard touchdown run with seven seconds remaining. That performance came one week after posting 313 yards in the win over Franklin Sept. 9. His 313 passing yards were one short of his career-high 314 that he posted in the 2016 game against Marist.

Nick Weaver had a career-best eight receptions in that win over Taylor. 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 21.0 and 8.4 yards, respectively, on kick-off and punt returns this season. He had season-best returns in the win over Taylor (37 yards on a kick-off return and 32 yards on a punt return). By contrast, Butler has allowed an average of 3.8 yards per punt return, which is second the PFL and is 16th nationally. Butler's kick-off coverage unit is also second-best in the PFL, surrendering only 17.7 yards per kick-off return.

Sophomore Drew Bevelhimer made all three of his field goal attempts Sept. 30 against Drake, connecting on kicks of 32, 42, and 43 yards. His final field goal pushed him over 100 career points. Bevelhimer has connected on 21 of his 27 career field goal attempts (78 percent).

Luke Sennett grabbed the second interception of his Butler career at San Diego. He has two of the Bulldogs' three picks this season. Sennett had 10 tackles against Drake, which were a team-high.

Saturday's game is the first of two consecutive home games as Oct. 21 is Homecoming on the Butler campus with Campbell coming to Indianapolis.