GAME NOTES | WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The annual "Battle of the Bulldogs" game will take place this Saturday, Nov. 12 when Drake hosts Butler in Des Moines Iowa. All Bulldog fans can watch the 2 PM kick-off live on ESPN 3.
 
Gameday
Date: Saturday, November 12
Time: 2:00 PM
Location: Des Moines, Iowa / Drake Stadium
Live Stats: GoDrakeBulldogs.com
Watch: ESPN 3
 
2022 PFL Standings
St. Thomas 6-0, 8-1
Butler 5-1, 7-2
Dayton 5-1, 7-2
Davidson 5-1, 7-2
Marist 4-3, 4-5
Valparaiso 3-3, 4-5
San Diego 2-3, 3-5
Stetson 1-4, 3-5
Drake 1-5, 1-8
Morehead State 1-5, 2-7
Presbyterian 0-7, 1-9
 
2022 PFL Schedule – Week 11
Valparaiso at Marist - 12 PM
Morehead State at Dayton - 1 PM
Stetson at St. Thomas - 2 PM
Butler at Drake - 2 PM
Davidson at San Diego - 4 PM
 
Bulldog Bits
- Luka Zurak was named FedEx Ground FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week.
- Zurak hit a career-long 56-yard field goal to help Butler defeat San Diego on the final play of the game.
- Butler tied the game at San Diego with 2:13 to play in the fourth quarter. Their first lead of the day came on the game-winning 56-yard field goal.
- Luke Wooten caught a career-high 14 passes for 147 yards at San Diego while adding a TD.
- Bret Bushka dropped back to pass a season-high 41 times at San Diego to record 268 passing yards.
- The Bulldogs have recorded a sack in six-straight games. Austin Korba came up with his second of the season at San Diego.
- Butler's last five-game win streak came in 2012.
- Butler leads the FCS in red zone offense (97%). They have scored on 33 of their 34 attempts.
- Bret Bushka leads the PFL and ranks 17th in the FCS in completion percentage (66.3).
- Butler ranks second in the PFL and 22nd in the FCS in 3rd down conversion percentage (44%).
- BU leads the PFL in 4th down conversion percentage, net punting, completion percentage, sacks allowed, tackles for loss allowed, and scoring defense.
 
SCOUTING DRAKE: The Bulldogs are 1-8 this year with their lone win coming on Oct. 29 at Stetson 24-17. Luke Bailey took over under center for Drake in that game and passed for 236 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Dorian Boyland also rushed the ball 22 times for 115 yards and a score. Boyland has 507 rushing yards this season and has found the end zone three times. Bailey took over the huddle for senior Ian Corwin in Drake's last game. The 6-2 junior completed 21 of his 40 attempts against the Hatters. Senior LB Tanner Pollack ranks third in the PFL with 80 tackles this season. He has 18 more tackles than anyone else on the Drake roster. The sack leader at Drake is Finn Claypool (5) and Tony Graham II leads the secondary with two interceptions.
 
Drake had two weeks to prepare for Butler as the Bulldogs come off their bye week. Before beating Stetson, Drake's last win was the Oct. 2 meeting at Butler in 2021.
 
LAST MEETING: Cross Robinson scored the only touchdown of the game the last time Butler and Drake met on the gridiron. Butler led 3-0 at the half, but Robinson's third quarter TD run from the four-yard line would give the away team a 6-3 victory. The Bulldogs had a chance to take the lead later in the second half, but they fumbled on the Drake 1-yard line with 4:53 to play in the third quarter.
 
Bret Bushka completed 12 passes for 109 yards in the contest and added 78 rushing yards. Thomas Rousseau had a sack for the BU defense.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: Drake leads Butler in the all-time series 22-8-1. The first-ever meeting in 1932 was the tie in the series. Neither team was able to score in Indianapolis. Drake has won the last six meetings against Butler with four of those games coming in Indy.
 
Butler's last win over Drake was a 20-13 victory at the Sellick Bowl in 2015. Their last and only win in Iowa was a 28-20 outcome in 1994!
 
ZURAK NAMED PFL SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Luka Zurak's 56-yard field goal as time expired lifted Butler to a 26-23 PFL victory at San Diego, Saturday. The 56-yarder is the third longest in the FCS this season and longest in the PFL. Zurak finished the day making 4-of-5, connected from 32, 21, 44, and 56 yards and missing a 45-yarder in the middle of the sequence. He also connected on two PATs and was responsible for 14 of the Bulldogs 26 points in a win that kept them alive in the bid to win the league's automatic bid.
 
Zurak's final kick was one yard shy of the school record. He added two extra points to score 14 points in the comeback victory.
 
LOOK AT LUKE: Freshman WR Luke Wooten caught a career-high 14 passes for 147 yards at San Diego. His fourth quarter TD with 2:13 to play tied the game at 23-23. 14 receptions ranks second all-time at Butler behind Tom Redmond who caught 15 passes vs. Ball State in 1972.
 
The last Bulldog to catch 14 passes in a single-game was Pace Temple. The BU standout did it two times in 2018 (at Youngstown State, and at Davidson). 14 receptions is the most by any PFL player this season. Three other FCS players have caught 15 passes this year.
 
THE LAST TIME: Butler hasn't lost since Oct. 1 when the 'Dawgs played at Davidson in the PFL opener. Since that setback, BU has snapped some significant streaks. On Oct. 8, Butler shutout Dayton 31-0 to end the longest scoring streak in Division I football (501 games). It was Butler's first win over Dayton since 2013. On Oct. 15, Butler won the Hoosier Helmet at Valpo by outscoring the Beacons 20-6 in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs had lost the previous three meetings vs. their in-state rival. On Oct. 22, Butler defeated Marist 31-10 on homecoming weekend. It was only the program's third win vs. the Red Foxes. On Oct. 29, Butler beat Morehead State for the first time since 2018. It marked the 600th all-time win in program history. On Nov. 5, Butler defeated San Diego at Torero Stadium for the first time since 2001!
 
Butler has not defeated San Diego, Morehead State, Valpo and Dayton in the same year since 2009. The Bulldogs went 11-1 that season and were crowned PFL Champs.
 
BUSHKA ADDED TO WATCH LIST: Bret Bushka is listed on the 2022 Walter Payton Award watch list, an honor that Stats Perform presents to the national offensive player of the year in college football's Division I subdivision.
 
Bushka leads the PFL in passing efficiency. He has thrown nine touchdowns over his last five starts with zero interceptions.
 
UP NEXT: The final game of the 2022 regular season will be played next weekend at the Sellick Bowl. Butler will host St. Thomas, looking to hand the Tommies their first PFL loss of the season.
 
The Butler football program will honor their senior class before the 12 PM kick-off on Saturday, Nov. 19.