TICKETS | WATCH | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES
 
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler will host Drake Saturday at 12 PM to close out the 2023 regular season. Senior Day will take place before kick-off as Butler attempts to hand Drake their first PFL loss of the season. BU has not followed their bye week with a win since 2018 but a victory in the finale will give Butler eight wins, their highest total since 2013.
 
GameDay
Date: Saturday, November 18
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. / Sellick Bowl
Live Stats: ButlerSports.com (Statbroadcast)
Watch: FloFootball.com
 
Bulldog Bits
- Bret Bushka was named PFL Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 5.
- Bushka tied the Butler single-game record at Morehead State by tossing five touchdown passes.
- Butler scored 35 first half points at MSU helping them score a season-high 49 points on Nov. 4.
- BU recorded a season-high 482 yards of total offense, averaging 7.3 yards per play.
- Jyran Mitchell is one of three FCS players with 1,200 rushing yards this season.
- Mitchell ranks third in the FCS in rushing yards (1,213) and fourth in yards per game (121.3).
- Mitchell leads the PFL in all-purpose yards, rushing yards, total touchdowns, and scoring.
- Luke Wooten needs 44 yards to reach 1,000 in his BU career.
- Butler leads the nation in Red Zone Defense.
- George Dristiliaris recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss against the Eagles.
- Patrick Coury picked off a pass at Morehead State and returned it 18 yards for a Bulldog TD.
- Lucas Kozlowski heads into Saturday with 95 career tackles (54 solo).
- BU only allowed nine first downs in their win at Morehead State.
- The Bulldogs lead the PFL in scoring defense, allowing just 18.0 points per game.
 
PFL Standings
Drake 7-0, 7-3
Davidson 6-1, 7-3
St. Thomas 6-1, 7-3
Butler 5-2, 7-3
Marist 4-4, 4-6
Morehead State 3-4, 4-6
San Diego 3-4, 3-7
Valparaiso 2-5, 3-7
Dayton 1-6, 3-7
Presbyterian 1-6, 3-7
Stetson 1-6, 3-7
 
PFL Schedule – Week 12
Drake at Butler 12:00 p.m.
Bucknell at Marist 12:00 p.m.
San Diego at Stetson 12:00 p.m.
Morehead State at Presbyterian 1:00 p.m.
Valparaiso at St. Thomas 2:00 p.m.
Dayton at Davidson 7:00 p.m.
 
SCOUTING DRAKE: The Bulldogs are having a great season and head to Indianapolis with a 7-3 overall record. They defeated Presbyterian last weekend (16-14) to remain undefeated in PFL play (7-0). That victory paired with a Davidson loss at Morehead State (47-17) put Drake on top of the league standings and allowed the Bulldogs to clinch a share of the 2023 PFL Championship. Head Coach Todd Stepsis has PFL Player of the Year Candidates on each side of the football. Defensively, Finn Claypool leads the PFL in sacks (10.5), tackles for loss (16), and forced fumbles (5). In the other huddle, QB Luke Bailey leads the PFL in passing yards (2,326) and completions (183). He ranks second in TD passes (15).
 
Drake leads the PFL in passing offense (242.5), turnover margin, tackles for loss allowed and fewest sacks allowed.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: Drake holds the upper hand in the all-time series vs. Butler 23-8-1. The annual "Battle of the Bulldogs" game has ended with a Drake victory in seven-straight seasons.
 
Butler hasn't beat Drake since 2015. The first-ever meeting was played in 1932 and went down as the lone tie in the series (0-0).
 
LAST MEETING: Drake snapped a Butler five-game winning streak last year on Nov. 12 to knock BU out of contention for the league title. The game in Des Moines featured the home team opening up a 17-7 lead after the first quarter and Drake would hang on for a 27-24 victory. 
 
Butler tied the game at 24-24 with just under five minutes to play in the fourth with a 33-yard Luka Zurak field goal. A late BU interception gave the ball back to Drake with 43 seconds left in the game. Four plays later, Drake hit a 22-yard game-winning field goal.
 
EYEING EIGHT WINS: Head Coach Mike Uremovich has guided the Bulldogs to seven wins in back-to-back seasons.
 
Butler had not won seven games in back-to-back seasons since 2012-13. They went 8-3 in 2012 and 9-4 in 2013.
 
BUSHKA NAMED PFL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Nov. 5): Bushka was responsible for six touchdowns as Butler downed Morehead State 49-7 in Saturday's PFL action. He completed 16-of-17 passes for 281 yards and five first-half touchdowns before adding a second half rushing touchdown. Bushka pushed the Bulldogs to a 21-0 lead with three touchdown throws in the first quarter alone, connecting on pass plays of 25, 28, and 61 yards. He closed the half with two more touchdown tosses of 21 and two yards to build a 35-7 halftime advantage. Bushka added a 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. It was the third five-touchdown day by a PFL quarterback this season.
 
Bushka earned the honor for the first time this season and for the third time in his career. Jyran Mitchell has been named Offensive Player of the Week twice this season and Devaon Holman and Nick Bafia have each been named Defensive Player of the Week in 2023.
 
MITCHELL ON A MISSION: Jyran Mitchell has rushed for 100+ yards in six of Butler's seven conference games this season. He also has a rush of 30 or more yards in five of those seven contests (four-straight).
 
Mitchell has put together the ninth-best single-season rushing performance in program history. He needs 72 yards in the finale to pass Naim Sanders for eighth place and 163 to pass Trae Heeter for seventh.
 
TOUCHDOWN MACHINE: Jyran Mitchell has scored a touchdown in every game this season. He scored at least one rushing TD in every game from Sept. 9 to Oct. 28 and added receiving touchdowns at Montana, at Dayton and at Morehead State.
 
Mitchell got involved in the passing game at Morehead State and caught a 61-yard TD pass from Bushka in the first quarter. That TD gave him 15 total on the year, making him accountable for 90 points. Mitchell is now tied for eighth on Butler's single-season scoring list alongside Scott Gray (2007).
 
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 has passed for 1,649 yards in 2023 moving his career total to 5,784. He recently passed Will Marty in career passing yards and needs just 126 more yards to move into third place all-time. Bushka has also rushed for 1,386 yards in his BU career. Altogether, Bushka has accounted for 7,179 yards of offense and 59 touchdowns over his four-year career.
 
UP NEXT: The NCAA FCS Playoffs begin on Saturday, Nov. 25. PFL Major Award Winners will be announced on Monday, Nov. 27. All-PFL Teams will follow on Tuesday, Nov. 28 and Academic All-PFL honorees will be released on Nov. 29.