The 2024 Pioneer Football League home opener will send Morehead State to the Sellick Bowl on Saturday with Butler hosting the Eagles for 1 p.m. kick. The Homecoming Game will be the 19th meeting between the league foes.
 
Game Day
Date: Saturday, October 5
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. / Sellick Bowl
Live Stats: ButlerSports.com (Statbroadcast)
Watch: FloSports.com
 
Bulldog Bits
- The Bulldogs are 4-0 for the first time since 2009.
- Butler has not lost over Homecoming Weekend since 2016.
- BU has Homecoming wins over Valparaiso, Marist, DePauw, Jacksonville, Morehead State and Campbell over that stretch.
- Butler's 63-point performance vs. VUL is the highest scoring output by any PFL team this season.
- Only seven other FCS schools have scored more points in a single-game this season.
- Joey Suchy passed 1,000 career rushing yards against VUL with an 80-yard, two-touchdown effort.
- Billy Dozier had a career-high 59 yards and two rushing touchdowns last weekend.
- BU scored a touchdown on every drive against VUL before taking a knee late in the fourth quarter.
- BU rushed for a season-high 349 yards in their last game, their most since Sept. 11, 2021.
- Jerel Rhodes II, Griffin Caldwell and Nick Howard all had rushing TD's for Butler in their last game.
- Howard's next rushing TD will move his career total to 40.
- Trevon Brown scored his first touchdown as a Bulldog last weekend; it was the second receiving touchdown of his career.
- Ethan Loss caught a 51-yard TD pass from Reagan Andrew last week.
- The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 45-0 in the first quarter this season and 37-3 in the fourth.
- Butler only gave up three first downs vs. VUL.
- Tyson Garrett had two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks against the Dragons; he is now 10 tackles away from 100 in his career.
- Jayden Norris and Onye Onuoha each recorded their first sack as a Bulldog last weekend vs. VUL.
- Nick Bafia needs one solo tackle on Saturday to reach 100 in his career.
- Devaon Holman made his season-debut vs. VUL.
 
PFL Schedule – Week 6
Drake at Valparaiso 1:00 P.M.
Marist at Davidson 1:00 P.M.
Morehead State at Butler 1:00 P.M.
Stetson at St. Thomas 2:00 P.M.
Presbyterian at San Diego 4:00 P.M.
 
PFL Standings
Davidson 1-0, 3-1
Dayton 1-0, 3-1
Drake 1-0, 2-1
Morehead State 1-0, 3-2
Butler 0-0, 4-0
Stetson 0-0, 2-2
St. Thomas 0-0, 1-3
San Diego 0-1, 2-2
Presbyterian 0-1, 2-3
Valparaiso 0-1, 2-3
Marist 0-1, 0-4
 
SCOUTING MOREHEAD STATE: The Eagles are 3-2 overall after notching a 17-5 home win against Valparaiso in their league opener. MSU led the Beacons 10-5 at halftime and added a fourth quarter touchdown to put the game away. Their defense ranks third among their FCS peers in passing yards allowed per game (128).
 
Morehead State is 3-0 at home this year, but 0-2 on the road. Defensive lineman Noah Benza is the reigning PFL Defensive Player of the Week.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: Saturday's contest will be the 19th meeting between the two programs. MSU leads the all-time series 18-10, but the Bulldogs have won the last two contests.
 
Butler defeated Morehead State 56-20 in 2022 and notched a road win the following year 49-7.
 
LAST MEETING: Butler recorded a 49-7 win at Jayne Stadium last year on Nov. 4. The Bulldogs averaged 7.3 yards per play and posted 482 yards of total offense in the victory.
 
Bret Bushka tied a school record in the win. He threw five touchdowns passes against the Eagles. All five TD's came in the first half.
 
PFL OPENERS: The Bulldogs are 1-1 in PFL openers under the current staff. They won 28-18 at Stetson a year ago, but lost at Davidson in 2022.
 
This is Butler's first time hosting their league opener since 2018 when they defeated Morehead State 24-21.
 
BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS: The Bulldogs have shutout their opponent in back-to-back games for the first time since 1957. That year, BU defeated Indiana State 27-0 and then traveled to Valpo to defeat the Beacons 27-0.
 
The last time BU shutout two teams in the same season was in 1998.
 
OPEN OCTOBER ON A HIGH NOTE: The Bulldogs are 6-3 during the month of October under the leadership of Coach Uremovich.
 
Butler was winless in October the year before Coach Uremovich arrived on campus.
 
UNDEFEATED: The Bulldogs are one of six undefeated teams in the Football Championship Subdivision.
 
Montana State and Mercer are both 5-0, Delaware and Butler are both 4-0. Two Ivy League teams are 2-0.
 
TOP DAWGS: Butler leads the nation in third down conversion percentage, red zone offense, fewest penalties per game, fewest penalty yards per game, passing yards allowed, scoring defense, and total defense.
 
The Bulldogs are 19-for-19 on red zone scoring chances this season. They average 444 yards of total offense per game and only allow 191.
 
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: Butler's offense is averaging 43.7 points per game this year and the defense is only allowing six points per game.
 
Butler leads the country in scoring defense and trails only Monmouth (44.2) in scoring offense.
 
HOWARD'S HAVING AN IMPACT: Nick Howard has scored at least one rushing touchdown in every game this season. He also has a rush of 15+ yards in every game this year.
 
Howard ranks third in the PFL in rushing touchdowns (5) and fourth in rushing yards per game (68.5).
 
SHOWING LOVE TO THE LINE: Butler's offensive line hasn't allowed a sack over their last two games and has paved the way for BU backs to rush for 247 yards per contest this season.
 
Butler ranks seventh in the country in rushing yards per game. They average 5.75 yards per carry.
 
DO YOUR JOB: Butler's defense has had a different player lead the team in tackles in nearly every game this year. Adam Sturtz, Nick Bafia, Brayton Spetter and Tyson Garrett have all been team leaders.
 
Will Mason tied Sturtz for the team lead in tackles Week 1 then shared the lead with Bafia in Week 2.
 
RYAN IS READY: Ryan Short has only punted the ball three times over Butler's last three games.
 
Short is 3-for-3 on field goal attempts this year and has 11 touchbacks on 25 kickoffs.
 
UP NEXT: The Battle of the Bulldogs contest will take place next Saturday at Drake. Kick-off is slated for 2 p.m. eastern, 1 p.m. central.
 
Butler has not defeated Drake since 2015 (20-13). Their last win in Des Moines was recorded in 1994 (28-20).