Butler University Athletics

INDIANAPOLIS - Butler defeated the Franklin College Grizzlies 52-0 on Saturday evening at the Bud & Jackie Sellick Bowl. Butler's shutout is the first since the 2024 season when Butler shutout Virginia-Lynchburg. Steven Stephany was tremendous on defense for Butler, forcing two fumbles and recording an interception. With the win, Butler improves to 2-1 on the season while Franklin slides to 1-1.
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NOTEABLE STATS

• Gabe Passini completed 14-of-20 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Passini added 51 rushing yards on eight carries.
• Nick Munson caught two passes for 41 yards and a touchdown. Munson had one rush for 11 yards and a touchdown.
• Blake Matthews had two catches for 36 yards and a touchdown.
• Michael Dellumo scored his first collegiate touchdown and carried the ball 10 times for 79 yards.
• Desmin Jackson had nine carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. Jackson has now recorded a touchdown in all three of Butler's games this season. 
• Zac Willingham-Davis scored his first touchdown of his Butler career.
• Sam Manna had eight carries for 57 yards.
• Jack Linden carried the ball six times for 60 yards. Linden also scored his first collegiate touchdown in the contest.
• Stephany was sensational on defense, recording two forced fumbles, an interception and eight tackles.
• Madden Beriault recovered a fumble.
• Blair Schonhorst recorded his first interception of his Butler career.
• Will Beesley led the defense with eight tackles, two QB hits and a forced fumble.
• Tristan Johnson had a fumble recovery.
• Okemdi Eze recorded a sack.
• Christian Kramer made his collegiate debut.
• Butler forced five Franklin turnovers, three fumbles and two interceptions.

 
ON THE RECORD WITH HEAD COACH KEVIN LYNCH
"Well, first off, it's always great to win and to win like that and in that fashion. I thought we did a great job of coming out ready to play. They had some weapons with a ton of ability and wanted to take advantage of some things, but we won the turnover battle, five to zero. That's something that really hit us last year in a negative way, so we've been really clean that way through the first three games. You can do some special things if you win the turnover margin like that. I'm really happy about that. I really liked our second half. I thought at times on offense in the first half, we weren't playing with the type of urgency I'd love to play with, and I thought in the second half we did a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage and getting first downs, and then finally got some explosive runs there. So overall, I mean, you can't say much. We were very clean and did a good job, you know, being disruptive. So really proud of the guys and big win for us as a team."
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HOW IT HAPPENED

• Butler forced a Franklin pun on their first drive of the game. The Bulldogs then put together a nine-play, 55-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown run from Munson. On the first play of the Grizzlies' next drive, Stephany forced a fumble at the Franklin 37-yard line and Beriault jumped on the loose ball. Butler was unable to convert on the turnover as a missed 44-yard field goal gave Franklin the ball back just before the end of the quarter. Butler took the 7-0 advantage into the second quarter.
• On the first play of the second quarter, Stephany forced his second fumble of the game and Diamond hoped on the ball, recording Butler's second turnover of the game. BU then put together a seven-play, 54-yard drive that ended with a 29-yard Munson receiving touchdown, which marked his second score of the game. On Franklin's next drive, Schonhorst jumped in front of a pass and was able to hold onto it, marking the Bulldogs' first interception of the game and the third caused turnover of the first half. After a Bulldog punt, Franklin started driving down the field. Stephany continued his spectacular first half, as he jumped in front of a Franklin pass, grabbing Butler's second interception of the quarter. Butler then put together a three-play, 62-yard drive that saw Matthews haul in a 29-yard touchdown reception, giving Butler a 21-0 lead. Franklin then turned the ball over on downs, which gave Butler one final opportunity of the half with 1:14 left in the second quarter. The Bulldogs drove down the field and were able to convert a 26-yard field goal with three seconds left as BU took the 24-0 lead into the half.
• Butler opened the second half with a nine-play, 63-yard drive that ended with a six-yard rushing score for Dellumo. Both sides then traded possessions before Franklin began driving down the field. The Bulldog defense thwarted the Grizzlies' offensive efforts as Beesley forced another fumble and Johnson jumped on the ball, marking BU's fifth forced turnover of the game. Following the fumble, Jackson rattled off a 28-yard run giving the Bulldogs the ball on the five yard line of Franklin. Jackson finished the two-play drive with a five-yard rush to the left side as the tailback scampered into the endzone for his third touchdown of the season. Butler took the 38-0 lead into the fourth.
• Butler opened the fourth quarter with an 11-play, 76-yard drive that ended with Willingham-Davis scoring his first touchdown as a Bulldog on a four-yard rush. Butler then put together a 12-play, 85-yard drive that ended with a 33-yard rushing touchdown from Linden. BU cruised to the 52-0 victory at the final whistle.

 
UP NEXT
Butler will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 19, as the Bulldogs host Chicago State at the Bud & Jackie Sellick Bowl on Homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.