NORMAL, Ill. – The Butler football team took a 49-7 loss at Illinois State on Saturday night to signal the start of the 2021 season. Bret Bushka passed for 154 yards in the first start of his collegiate career. Butler's second quarter touchdown featured Bushka hitting Jared Suchevits on the right side of the field from one-yard out to post the first points of the season.
 
How It Happened
Illinois State outscored Butler 28-0 in the second half to secure a 49-7 victory in their home opener. Bryce Jefferson threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more to highlight the Redbird offense. Butler had seven different players rush the football in the setback. Kavon Samuels led the way with 14 carries for 38 yards. He added a team-best five receptions for 44 yards.
 
Samuels and Johnny O'Shea combined for nine of Butler's 16 grabs on the night. O'Shea averaged 11.5 yards per catch on his five targets. On the other side of the ball, Connor Reid made eight tackles from his defensive back position and Eloi Bigirimana made seven stops.
 
The game started off well for Butler as Bushka led the offense to a pair of first downs, moving the ball into Illinois State territory. BU was faced with a 4th and 2 on their opening drive and would turn it over on downs after an incomplete pass.
 
Illinois State would capitalize on the change of possession and march down the field for six on their first drive. The Redbirds covered 64 yards on nine plays to find the end zone. Nigel White was responsible for the first score of the night with his 10-yard run.
 
The game would move to 14-0 in the early stages of the second quarter. BU turned the ball over with an interception on third and long and Illinois State would use an eight-play 45 yard drive to double their lead. Cole Mueller would cross the goal line from one yard out to give Illinois State a 14-0 advantage. Mueller led the Redbirds with 111 yards on the ground. 80 of those came on one carry in the second half. In total, six different Redbirds would carry the ball for 243 yards.
 
The Bulldogs didn't flinch early despite the deficit. They battled during the second quarter and would earn six the hard way on a fourth down conversion. It seemed that BU would secure their first points of the season on a pass from Bushka to Nate Rusk in the back of the end zone, but the call would be overturned after a replay review.
 
Butler kept with the gameplan and would get back down to the one yard line. Multiple attempts from Nick Orlando and a dive from Samuels would not get the result BU wanted so Bushka rolled out to the right to find Suchevits for the TD.
 
BU played great during that stretch, scoring on a 17-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. They took nearly 10 minutes off the game clock and the 'Dawgs would be within seven points with just 3:40 left in the first half.
 
Butler couldn't get into the half without allowing another ISU TD. Jefferson gave the home team a 14-point cushion late in the half by finding Austin Nagel streaking down the middle of the field for a 44-yard TD pass.
 
The 'Dawgs would take control with just over one minute to play before the break. BU crossed the 50-yard line, but a second interception would end a scoring chance and take the two teams into the half with Illinois State leading 21-7.
 
Butler dominated time of possession in the first half 19:04 to 10:56 and were even on first downs (10-10), but two costly turnovers would impact the first 30 minutes.
 
The second half told the story with Illinois State coming out on top. They scored less than three minutes into the third quarter to move the scoreboard to 28-7. Jefferson hit Rutkiewicz for a gain of 28 through the air and two plays later Jefferson would keep it for a five-yard TD run.
 
Jefferson threw a 20-yard TD pass midway through the third and tacked on a 14-yard rush early in the fourth to lead his team to victory.
 
Stat of the Game
Johnny O'Shea caught four passes for a team-high 46 yards. The redshirt-junior has now caught at least three passes in eight-straight games.
 
Inside the Box Score        
- Butler won time of possession 38:00 to 22:00
- Turnovers cost Butler; they lost the turnover battle 3-1
- Michael Benefield rushed six times for 24 yards
- Joey Suchy ran five times for 22 yards
- Yogi Flager caught two passes for 30 yards
 
Up Next
Butler will host DePauw on Saturday, Sept. 11. The 2021 home opener will double as homecoming. Kick-off is slated for 6 PM at the Sellick Bowl.