INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs controlled the ground game in their PFL home opener and would outscore the Blue Hose 13-0 in the second half to claim a 27-17 victory at the Sellick Bowl on Saturday afternoon. With the win, Butler moves to 4-1 on the year with a 2-0 mark in league play. The 2023 team is the first Bulldog group to record four wins in the month of September since 2009!
The Bulldogs dominated time of possession (41:19 – 18:41) to run 84 plays against Presbyterian resulting in 464 yards of total offense. The defense was just as good by keeping the Blue Hose off the scoreboard in the second half. Presbyterian only accounted for 33 rushing yards against the Bulldog front while BU rushed for 299 yards.
Jyran Mitchell once again led the charge in the Bulldog backfield. The graduate rushed the ball 31 times for 149 yards and was responsible for the first touchdown of the game to give BU the early lead.
Presbyterian fought back with a quick strike over the top that resulted in Dominic Kibby getting behind the defense for a 93-yard TD reception from Tyler Wesley.
Butler's second quarter TD run came from
Bret Bushka midway through the frame. Bushka took off 15 times to rush for 99 yards. He had a rushing and passing touchdown vs. the Blue Hose. The rush gave BU a 14-7 lead, but another big play from the Blue Hose would pull the visitors even at 14-14. Kibby once again got loose against the BU secondary and would add a 75-yard TD to his stat line. Moments later, PC added a 44-yard field goal to take a three-point lead into the half.
The opening drive of the second half set the tone for the rest of the game as Butler went 85 yards in 16 plays to regain the lead. Bushka found
Ryan Lezon in the end zone on a 14-yard pass to put BU back in front. Lezon caught his only target of the game for the go-ahead touchdown and
Luka Zurak would give Butler some insurance with made field goals from 23 and 20 yards out.
Ethan Loss led Butler with four catches for 36 yards and
Joey Audia had a huge second half first down to end the game with three catches, covering 33 yards. Bushka completed 17 of his 26 pass attempts on the day to reach 148 yards on Saturday. His longest pass traveled 24 yards.
The defense got a lift from
Jeremiah Jackson,
Tyson Garrett and
Lucas Kozlowski. Jackson had six tackles, 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Carson Gulgin was in the backfield to get the other half of the BU sack.
Butler opens the month of October with a road game at St. Thomas. The defending PFL champions will host the Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 7 for a 1 PM kick-off. Fans can catch the game on Tommies All-Access channel that streams on TommieSports.com.
