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INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler football team will return to the Sellick Bowl on Saturday to host the Davidson Wildcats. The Bulldogs won their last home game 24-14 over Jacksonville and will aim for their second PFL victory at 12 PM on Nov. 9.
 
Bulldog Bits
- The 46-yard TD pass from Nick Orlando to Stephen Dennis was the longest pass play of the season for BU.
- BU dropped back to pass 37 times at Marist, setting a new team-high total.
- Drew Bevelhimer hit a career-long 52-yard field goal in the third quarter at Marist.
- Bevelhimer has made 43 field goals during his Butler career (40 games).
- Nick Orlando rushed for a 3-yard TD at Marist giving him a team-high seven rushing touchdowns.
- Beau Snuggs recorded his team-best third interception of the season at Marist and returned it 40-yards for a TD.
- Mickey Kane recorded two sacks at Marist, moving his career total to seven.
- Mason Brunner made 10 tackles at Marist, moving his career total to 207 (37 games).
- Michael Dunn recorded the first sack of his career at Marist on Saturday.
- Dan DelGrosso had a team-high 11 tackles at Marist with a forced fumble and two tackles for loss.
 
SCOUTING DAVIDSON: The Wildcats started the 2019 season 3-0, but would taste defeat at Campbell before the start of conference action. PFL wins over Morehead State, Jacksonville, and most recently Valparaiso have the Wildcats in the top half of the league standings. Their conference losses came to San Diego and Marist. Playing great defense is the key to success for the Wildcats. Davidson leads the PFL in rushing defense (101.0), scoring defense (21.4), and total defense (284.4). Linebacker Tony Collins leads the team with 57 total tackles. George Hatalowich and Harrison Hill are also above 50 after nine games. On the other side of the ball Head Coach Scott Abell likes to establish a run game for the Wildcats. Davidson has the best rushing attack of any team in the PFL, averaging 313 rushing yards per contest. Wesley Dugger is the running back to keep an eye on. He averages 94.6 yards per game on the ground. Season numbers include 757 yards and 16 touchdowns.
 
George Hatalowich was named PFL Defensive Player of the Week after sealing a win vs. Valparaiso. Hatalowich recorded his first interception of the season on Valpo's final drive. He led the Wildcats with nine tackles.
 
ALL-PFL TALENT: RB Wesley Dugger, LT Ethan Steinbacher, and DT Bryce Perry-Martin are team leaders in the Davidson locker room. Dugger needs just 37 yards to break Davidson's all-time rushing record.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: The winner of Saturday's game will take the lead in the all-time series. Davidson won the first five meetings against Butler, starting back in 2003. Butler responded with six-straight wins from 2009-2016.
 
Davidson won a shootout last year on their home field. The Bulldogs drove the ball down to the Wildcat one-yard line, but were denied allowing Davidson to tie the all-time series.
 
LAST YEAR AT DAVIDSON: Butler and Davidson combined for 53 first downs last year in the regular season finale. The game was decided on the very last play of regulation. Butler faced a fourth-down and goal situation with the ball at the Davidson three-yard line. Brad Sznajder took the handoff and gained two yards, but was stopped short of the goal line. Sznajder logged 122 yards on the ground with a score. He averaged 6.4 yards per carry. Wesley Dugger was also a high profile player in the game for Davidson. He scored three rushing touchdowns, ending the game with 87 yards.
 
Neither team punted the ball last year in Davidson's 41-38 win. The Wildcats only attempted six passes.
 
GET OFF THE FIELD: Davidson leads the PFL in third-down conversions. They move the chains 53.6 percent of the time on third down. Butler's defense was great on third down at Marist. They limited the Red Foxes to just four third-down conversions on 12 tries.
 
STOP THE RUN: Butler has to slow down the Davidson rushing attack on Saturday. The Wildcats have a league-best 213 first downs on the season and 156 of them have come on the ground. Butler faced a similar rushing attack two weeks ago when they hosted Jacksonville. Butler allowed 240 yards on the ground, but won the game 24-14. They were able to contain Calvin Turner Jr. and limit him to just 45 rushing yards.
 
Davidson and Jacksonville rank 1-2 in rushing offense among all PFL teams. Turner Jr. leads the league in rushing and Dugger ranks fourth.
 
ORLANDO LEADS OFFENSE: QB Nick Orlando set new season-high totals in rushing attempts (16) and passing attempts (36) at Marist. He threw a touchdown in the second quarter and rushed for one in the fourth.
 
Orlando's first passing touchdown of his BU career went to Stephen Dennis. He completed 18 passes last Saturday. He went into that game with just 12 total.
 
UP NEXT: Butler will host Valparaiso on Saturday, Nov. 16. The Battle for the Hoosier Helmet will also serve as Senior Day for the Bulldogs. Kick-off is scheduled for 12 PM.
 
Butler leads the all-time series against Valparaiso 50-27, but the Crusaders have won the last two meetings.