Butler University Athletics

Butler celebrated Family Weekend on its Indianapolis campus with a 41-10 win over visiting San Diego Saturday afternoon at the Sellick Bowl.
 
Quarterback Gabe Passini led the Bulldog offensive attack with 217 yards passing to go along with 56 yards rushing and three scores on the ground. His 217 passing yards came on 11 completions, including a 66-yard connection with Michael Nix and a 60-yard strike to Jonny Manor.
 
The Bulldogs had a 262-13 advantage in rushing yards on the day, which largely contributed to Butler's 479-308 edge in total yards.
 
With the win, Butler improves to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in Pioneer Football League play. The Toreros fall to 2-4 (1-2 PFL).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Butler held a 20-3 halftime lead, racking up 274 yards over the first 30 minutes. The Bulldog defense contributed a Madden Beriault interception on the Toreros' first drive and two fourth-down stops as USD could turn 37 plays and 18:15 of possession into only three points.
• Butler's first-half touchdowns came from the legs of Sam Manna and Desmin Jackson. Manna went around the right side for a 73-yard score in the first quarter and Jackson took his first touch of the game into the endzone from 22 yards out in the second quarter.
• All three of Passini's rushing touchdowns came in the second half as the Bulldogs' lead continued to grow.

 
NOTABLE:

• Manna, a freshman, entered the game with 146 yards rushing on the season. His 151-yard game came on just nine carries and included a 73-yard touchdown.
• Nix had 113 yards on three receptions.
• Beriault had two interceptions on the day, the first two of his Butler career.
• Butler was 5-for-5 in the red zone while the Bulldog defense limited San Diego to a 0-of-3 day inside the 20.
• Okemdi Eze had three sacks on the afternoon for the Bulldogs. Jayden Norris and Nathan Ash each had a sack to contribute to Butler's total of five.
• Mason Armstrong led the Butler defense with eight total tackles.
• Butler entered the game off a bye; San Diego defeated Davidson 63-14 last week.
• This was Butler's first win over San Diego since the 2022 season. The Toreros now own a 22-7 lead in the all-time series.
• The Bulldogs are now 22-6 when playing at the Sellick Bowl since the beginning of the 2022 season.
• Butler entered the weekend leading the nation in turnover margin with a +2.40 margin. The Bulldogs had two takeaways while not committing a turnover of their own.

Coach Kevin Lynch on his team's play in the red zone Saturday: "One thing we've been really good at is in the red zone so far this season, and finishing drives is so critical. If you look at us a year ago, that was some of our wins and losses, just not finishing in the red zone and having to settle for field goals. So us finishing the deal is great. And that fourth-down stop early in the game when they elected to go for it on 4th-and-2 and we stopped them. That was huge. It was 17–3 at that time and then we took the ball about 85 yards and kicked a field goal right before the end of the half. So, you go from a 17–10 game to 20–3 getting the ball at half, that was huge."

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs return to action Saturday, hosting Dayton at the Sellick Bowl. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Butler will carry a four-game winning streak into the contest.