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INDIANAPOLIS – Butler will host Taylor Saturday afternoon at 1 PM in the 2023 home opener. The Bulldogs went 5-1 at the Sellick Bowl under the direction of Head Coach Mike Uremovich in 2022 and won their home opener vs. St. Thomas (Fla.) 31-26.
 
GameDay
Date: Saturday, Sept. 9
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. / Sellick Bowl
Live Stats: ButlerSports.com (Statbroadcast)
Watch: FloFootball.com
 
Bulldog Bits
- Bret Bushka passed for 263 yards and two touchdowns at #14 Montana in the season opener.
- Bushka leads the PFL in passing yards (263), completion percentage (66.6), and completions (24) after Week 1.
- Bushka completed passes to 11 different receivers in the season opener.
- Bulldog newcomers Jyran Mitchell and Ryan Lezon caught TD passes in their Bulldog debuts.
- BU scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to get within one point at Montana (21-20... 4:48 3Q).
- Ethan Loss set career-high totals on Saturday with four receptions, gaining 45 yards.
- William Enneking had more receiving yards in his Bulldog debut (44) than he did during his entire 2022 season at Cornell (40).
- Nick Bafia (12), Adam Sturtz (7) and Lucas Kozlowski (6) each recorded a new career-high in tackles at Montana.
- Kozlowski and Devaon Holman each recorded an interception against the Grizz.
- The Bulldogs were the only PFL team to come up with multiple interceptions in Week 1.
- Jacob Cain came up with a sack in the season opener, giving him seven in his Bulldog career.
 
PFL Standings
Morehead State 1-0
St. Thomas 1-0
Stetson 1-0
Butler 0-1
Davidson 0-1
Dayton 0-1
Drake 0-1
Marist 0-1
Presbyterian 0-1
San Diego 0-1
Valparaiso 0-1
 
2023 PFL Schedule – Week 2
Taylor at Butler 1:00 p.m.
Central State at Dayton 1:00 p.m.
Virginia-Lynchburg at Presbyterian 1:00 p.m.
St. Thomas at South Dakota 2:00 p.m.
Colorado Mesa at San Diego 4:00 p.m.
Valparaiso at Indiana Wesleyan 6:00 p.m.
Barton College at Davidson 7:00 p.m.
Northwestern (Iowa) at Drake 7:00 p.m.
Morehead State at Mercer 7:00 p.m.
Webber International at Stetson 7:00 p.m.
 
SCOUTING TAYLOR: The Trojans are 1-1 at the start of the 2023 campaign. In the season opener, Taylor scored on a 24-yard run with just nine seconds left to secure a 37-34 win at home vs. St. Ambrose. The following week they took a 54-14 loss at (RV) Concordia in Ann Arbor. Head Coach Aaron Mingo is in his third year of coaching the NAIA program. Mingo's offense is led by a pair of sophomores in QB Damon Hockett and WR Ja Thomas. Hockett has passed for 162 yards over his first two games while adding two touchdowns and 71 yards on the ground. Thomas is a dual threat with 129 rushing yards to go along with 80 receiving yards. On defense, the Trojans have a pair of senior linebackers leading the team in tackles. 
 
Taylor kicker Lucas Shilts was recognized as the MSFA Special Teams Player of the Week for the Trojans on Aug. 29. The sophomore scored 13 points, connecting on field goals from 40, 26, and 22 yards. He was also 4-for-4 on PATs.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Bulldogs lead the all-time series against the Trojans 9-1. The first-ever meeting was played three games into the 2010 season with Butler coming out on top 28-20. The Bulldogs most recent win came just one year ago by the final score of 45-10.
 
Butler scored 42 consecutive points against Taylor last year to run away with a 45-10 victory. Six different Bulldogs scored a touchdown in the night game. In 2021, BU set a new modern scoring record with 77 points in the win at Taylor.
 
BUSHKA IN BULLDOG HISTORY: QB Bret Bushka needs 55 rushing yards to reach 1,000 in his career and 103 passing yards to reach 4,500. 165 passing yards against Taylor will move him to seventh all-time at Butler in career passing yards.
 
Bushka is one of 35 FCS players to make the Preseason Watch List for the Walter Payton Award.
 
LUKA IS LEGIT: K/P Luka Zurak made two field goals at Montana (29, 39) and punted the ball four times, averaging 39.5 yards per punt. His farthest punt traveled 51 yards, giving him at least one 50+ yard punt in four-straight seasons.
 
Zurak is on the Preseason Watch List for the 2023 FCS Punter of the Year Award. Zurak has the best career punting average in Butler Football history (40.7).
 
OPTIONS ON OFFENSE: Eight of the 11 Bulldogs that caught a pass on Saturday gained more than 10 yards on a reception. The 32-yard touchdown pass from Bushka to Jyran Mitchell was the longest play of the day for the Bulldogs at Montana. Ryan Lezon broke three tackles to find the end zone for BU on a 26-yard TD pass that was dialed up after a timeout on a fourth down and two play call.
 
Newcomers accounted for 201 of Butler's 263 receiving yards at Montana.
 
FLOFOOTBALL: All six Butler home games will be streamed on FloFootball.com this season.
 
Joey Lindstrom and Jared Thomas will call the game vs. Taylor.
 
BIG STAGE: Butler played at Montana on Saturday in front of 25,430 fans, the largest crowd since the Bulldogs played #1 North Dakota State at Target Field in the 2019 season opener (34,544 attendance).
 
NDSU had four NFL players on that roster with Trey Lance leading the offense and Jabril Cox on defense.
 
THE LAST TIME: Bret Bushka topped 300 passing yards two times last year. The last time he threw for 300+ yards was Oct. 8, 2022 vs. Dayton. Bushka is also responsible for Butler's last 100-yard rushing performance. He gained 102 yards at Davidson on just six carries (Oct. 1, 2022).
 
Luke Wooten is the last Bulldog to top 100 receiving yards in a single-game. He had 147 yards in a win at San Diego. Wooten is also the last BU receiver to have multiple touchdowns in the same game (Nov. 19).
 
COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE: The Bulldogs scored points on 36 of their 37 trips to the red zone last season (97.3%). Their only failed attempt came Week 4 at Davidson.
 
Butler led the PFL and FCS in red zone offense last year. They went 1-for-1 in the red zone at Montana.
 
UP NEXT: Butler will host Wabash next Saturday at 6 PM. The lone night game on the 2023 schedule will be the 68th meeting between the two programs and the first since 1976!
 
Butler posted a 35-12 win over Wabash in the last meeting. The two teams tied (21-21) in 1970 and Wabash won the year before 17-6.