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INDIANAPOLIS – The Hoosier Helmet will be on the line this Saturday at noon when the Butler football team plays host to the Valparaiso Beacons. Fans are encouraged to arrive at the Sellick Bowl early this weekend as the football program recognizes their 2021 senior class before kick-off. Those unable to attend can watch the game unfold on the Butler Athletics YouTube channel.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Connor Reid leads the team with 61 tackles. He has 17 more tackles than anyone else on the roster.
- Bret Bushka set new season-high totals at Dayton with 29 completions on 48 attempts, resulting in 403 passing yards.
- Bushka is completing 61 percent of his passes this season, ranking fourth in the PFL.
- Bushka threw a 75-yard TD to Yogi Flager, marking the longest play of the season for BU.
- Flager is responsible for more than half of Butler's receiving TD's this year (6).
- BU is the least penalized team in the PFL. They rank eighth in the FCS with just 39 penalties.
- Butler and Valpo rank 2-3 in the PFL in interceptions. BU has 9 this year, Valpo has 8.
- The Bulldogs have the second-best rushing offense in the PFL averaging 187 yards per game.
- Butler has rushed for three touchdowns in back-to-back games.
- Butler has recorded and allowed 181 first downs this season.
- JJ Wadas is now 2-for-2 on field goals this year. He hit a 32-yarder at Dayton.
 
2021 PFL Standings
Davidson 6-0, 7-1
San Diego 6-1, 6-4
Marist 4-2, 3-5
Morehead State 4-2, 5-4
St. Thomas 4-2, 7-2
Dayton 4-3, 5-4
Valparaiso 3-3, 3-6
Stetson 2-4, 3-5
Drake 1-5, 2-6
Butler 0-6, 2-7
Presbyterian 0-6, 2-7
 
PFL Schedule
Valparaiso at Butler 12:00 p.m.
Davidson at Dayton 1:00 p.m.
St. Thomas at Drake 1:00 p.m.
Stetson at Morehead State 1:00 p.m.
Marist at Presbyterian 1:00 p.m.
 
SCOUTING VALPO: The Beacons head into the final two weeks of the regular season with a 3-6 overall record. All three wins have been recorded against PFL opponents. Valpo won their PFL opener at Drake 24-21 and posted a home win on Oct. 23 in front of their fans vs. Dayton (45-28). Most recently, Valpo outscored Presbyterian 65-55 to find the win column. RB Robert Washington was the driving force behind the victory. Washington posted the first 200-yard rushing game in the PFL since 2019 and was tabbed offensive player of the week. He ended the day with 234 yards on 26 carries. The senior tailback had touchdown runs that went for 61, 2, and 25 yards. Valparaiso set program records for points (65) and rushing touchdowns (8) with Washington's assistance.
 
Washington leads the PFL in rushing yards (844) and rushing yards per game (93.8). During the 2021 spring season, Washington ran for 199 yards and a touchdown in Indianapolis. Two weeks later, he gained 120 yards on the ground while adding two touchdowns.
 
LAST GAME VS. VALPO: Butler and Valparaiso played twice during the Spring 2021 season. The Bulldogs lost 24-14 at home and 28-25 at Valparaiso giving the Beacons control of the Hoosier Helmet trophy.
 
Butler led Valpo by three heading into the fourth quarter, but Washington would rush for two scores over the final 15 minutes to lead Valpo to a win.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: The first game between Valparaiso and Butler was played in 1927 with the Bulldogs winning at home 58-0. BU leads the all-time series 51-29, however the Beacons have won four out of the last five meetings.
 
Butler beat Valpo by three in 2019 to record a 24-21 victory on Senior Day. The Bulldogs traveled 44 yards in just 19 seconds to set up Drew Bevelhimer for the game-winning field goal (38 yards).
 
BLOCK OR BE BLOCKED: Valparaiso leads the FCS in blocked kicks with eight. They tied a PFL record at San Diego with three blocked kicks in a single game.
 
Valpo's special teams' coordinator is former NFL player Alex Bayer. This is his first year coaching for the Beacons.
 
BUSHKA GOT BUSY: QB Bret Bushka joined elite company on Oct. 30 by passing for 403 yards against the Flyers. Bushka became just the fourth quarterback in Butler football history to top 400 yards in a single-game. He dropped back 48 times and completed 29 passes. Bushka also led BU in rushing that day with 58 yards and two TD's on the ground.
 
DeWayne Ewing (497), Will Marty (425) and Travis Delph (419) are the other BU quarterbacks to have thrown for over 400 yards as a Bulldog.
 
YOGI YARDS: WR Yogi Flager caught six passes for 136 yards at Dayton giving him 1,084 receiving yards in his BU career (15 games).
 
Flager needs 180 yards over the final two games to crack the BU single-season top-ten list in receiving yards. Offensive Coordinator Kyle Conner ranks 10th currently. He recorded 876 yards for the 'Dawgs in 2000.
 
O'SHEA HIGHLIGHTS THE OFFENSE: WR Johnny O'Shea caught 13 passes at Dayton to lead the team with 164 receiving yards. He was just two grabs shy of tying the all-time BU record held by Tom Redmond (1972).
 
O'Shea needs 73 more yards to reach 1,000 in his BU career. The redshirt junior has caught 73 passes over 23 games.
 
SENIOR DAY: 18 student-athletes will be recognized on Saturday as part of a Senior Day celebration. Devin Aguilar, Eloi Bigirimana, Sam Brown, Mike Butler, Michael Dunn, Gaven Johnson, Matt Kentgen, Bradley Magee, Joe Marra, Mac Menard, Nick Orlando, Malachi Pike, Grant Purlee, Nate Rusk, Austin Schwantz, Trevor Scott, Ben Treece, and Mitch Zoloty will all play in their last game at the Sellick Bowl.
 
This group features 10 offensive players and eight defensive. Aguilar and Scott head out as two-time team captains.
 
UP NEXT: Butler will end the 2021 season at Marist next weekend. The Red Foxes and Bulldogs have only met five times in program history. Marist leads the all-time series 4-1.
 
Marist won the first-ever meeting 28-10 in Indianapolis during the 2011 season. The following season BU traveled to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to collect a 17-14 victory.