WATCH | LIVE STATS | LISTEN | GAME NOTES
 
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler and Dayton will go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon at Welcome Stadium. The 1 PM kickoff will stream on Facebook Live with Luke West Poley and Jared Phillips on the call.
 
GameDay
Date: Saturday, October 21
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Dayton, Ohio / Welcome Stadium
Live Stats: DaytonFlyers.com (Statbroadcast)
Watch: Facebook Live
 
Bulldog Bits
- Jyran Mitchell ranks seventh among all FCS running backs in rushing yards per game (116.0).
- Mitchell leads the PFL in all-purpose yards (129.2), rushing yards (812), and yards per rush (6.6).
- Mitchell ran for 123 yards and a score vs. Davidson. It was his fourth 100-yard rushing performance of the season.
- Bret Bushka accounted for 221 yards of offense and two touchdowns last weekend (92 rush).
- Ryan Lezon caught his team-best third TD pass of the season on Saturday. He has caught four passes in back-to-back games for the Bulldogs.
- Jeremy Johnson blocked a punt in the third quarter and was able to fall on the ball in the end zone to score the first TD of the second half for BU.
- The Bulldogs lead the PFL in scoring defense, allowing just 22.2 points per game this year.
- Adam Sturtz recorded the first sack of his collegiate career vs. the Wildcats.
- Will Mason picked off a pass in the end zone to keep Davidson off the scoreboard. The interception was his first of the season and third of his career.
- Lucas Kozlowski and Jeremiah Jackson each recorded 12 tackles vs. Davidson to set new career-highs.
- Butler is the least penalized team in the PFL (34.1) and they lead the league in Red Zone Defense.
 
PFL Standings
Davidson 3-0, 4-2
Drake 3-0, 3-3
Marist 3-1, 3-3
St. Thomas 3-1, 4-3
Butler 2-2, 4-3
Morehead State 2-2, 3-3
Presbyterian 1-2, 3-3
San Diego 1-2, 1-5
Stetson 1-2, 3-3
Valparaiso 0-3, 1-5
Dayton 0-4, 2-5
 
PFL Schedule – Week 8
Valparaiso at Davidson 1:00 p.m.
Butler at Dayton 1:00 p.m.
Marist at Presbyterian 1:00 p.m.
St. Thomas at Stetson 1:00 p.m.
Drake at San Diego 5:00 p.m.
Morehead State at Tarleton State 7:00 p.m.
 
SCOUTING DAYTON: The Flyers have lost four-straight and are now 2-5 on the year with each victory coming at Welcome Stadium. Dayton most recently took a 20-17 overtime loss at home to Presbyterian. They opened league play with a 40-25 setback at San Diego and lost to St. Thomas (20-14), and Morehead State (31-7) the next two weeks. Head Coach Trevor Andrews made a change under center in Dayton's last game. Drew VanVleet and Cole Dow shared snaps at quarterback vs. the Blue Hose. Each student-athlete passed the ball 15 times. VanVleet had one more completion (9), but also had an interception. Neither player was able to throw for more than 80 yards, but Dow added 85 yards on the ground last weekend to go along with a TD.
 
The Flyers were picked third in the PFL Preseason Coaches Poll, but enter Week 8 winless (0-4) in PFL action.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: Dayton holds a 33-13-1 advantage over Butler in the all-time series. The two teams met for the first time in 1925 with Butler coming out on top 10-7.
 
Butler snapped a seven-game losing streak vs. Dayton last year by shutting out the Flyers 31-0. The Bulldogs also snapped the longest scoring streak in Division I football as the Flyers had scored points in 501 games entering that contest.
 
LAST MEETING: Bret Bushka passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns last year vs. Dayton and added a rushing TD to his stat line. Bushka ended the game 25-for-29 and tossed two TD passes to Cameron Heald.
 
Butler's defense had three sacks and eight tackles for loss in the 2022 victory over UD.
 
MITCHELL ON A MISSION: Jyran Mitchell found the end zone in the fourth quarter against Davidson and has now scored a rushing TD in six-straight games.
 
Mitchell averaged 7.7 yards per rush vs. the Wildcats and broke loose for a gain of 40 on Butler's first drive to set up BU's first TD.
 
'DAWGS ON D: Butler recorded a season-high 86 tackles against Davidson. Lucas Kozlowski and Jeremiah Jackson accounted for 24 combined.
 
Butler's defense has a sack in three-straight games and has recorded at least three tackles for loss in every contest this season.
 
BALL SECURITY: The Bulldogs will try to create turnovers at Dayton this weekend. The Flyers have turned it over 18 times in four PFL games this season. Dayton lost two fumbles and threw a pick in their last game vs. Presbyterian.
 
Butler has forced four fumbles this season and has seven interceptions. Five different players are responsible for the seven picks.
 
OPENING DRIVE: Butler scored a touchdown on their opening drive vs. Davidson using just five plays to travel 59 yards.
 
Butler has scored a touchdown on their opening drive in four of the team's seven games. Dayton is 0-5 this year when trailing at halftime and 0-5 when their opponent scores first.
 
MOVE THE CHAINS: Butler went 7-for-14 on third down vs. the Wildcats. Five of the seven conversions for BU went for five yards or more.
 
BU went 5-for-7 on third down vs. Wabash (71.4%) and 7-for-14 against Presbyterian.
 
RED ZONE RESULTS: Butler's offense has scored on 19 of their 22 trips to the red zone this season (86.4%). The Bulldog defense has limited the opponent to points on 11 of their 16 trips to the red zone (68.8%).
 
Butler went 3-for-3 in the red zone last week with a rushing TD, passing TD and a field goal. The 'Dawgs allowed points on two of Davidson's three visits to the red zone.
 
BUSHKA BACK IN DAYTON: Bret Bushka posted career-high numbers the last time he played at Dayton completing 29 passes on 48 attempts for 403 yards.
 
Bushka added 13 carries for 58 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He also caught a pass that day for eight yards.
 
BUSHKA IN BULLDOG HISTORY: Bret Bushka topped 5,000 career passing yards at St. Thomas on Oct. 7 to become one of just six quarterbacks in program history to reach the milestone.
 
Bushka is one of 35 FCS players to make the Preseason Watch List for the Walter Payton Award. He has passed for 1,088 yards and seven touchdowns this year.
 
UP NEXT: The Valparaiso Beacons will be Butler's opponent over Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 28. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 PM.
 
Butler outscored Valpo 20-6 in the fourth quarter last year at Brown Field to return the Hoosier Helmet to Indianapolis. Bushka passed for two touchdowns and ran one in with 1:45 left in the game to help BU post the 26-25 win.