Gabe Passini Runs for 162 Yards as Butler Beats Presbyterian 27-10

Gabe Passini did not need to throw much on Saturday. Butler's quarterback ran 18 times for 162 yards and a touchdown, threw for another score, and kept Presbyterian's offense on the sideline for most of the afternoon in Clinton, S.C.

Butler beat Presbyterian 27-10 on Oct. 31, building a 14-0 first-quarter lead and never leading by fewer than 11 points after that. The Bulldogs improved to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the Pioneer Football League. Presbyterian fell to 4-5 and 3-3.

The numbers tell the story of control. Butler held the ball for 41:30, ran 47 times for 249 yards, converted 12 of 18 third downs and did not turn the ball over. Presbyterian managed 207 total yards, and 66 of them came on a single trick play.

A Fast Start

Butler took the opening kickoff and went 82 yards in 11 plays, a drive that ate 7:02. Passini kept it alive with a 33-yard run on third-and-4, and a Presbyterian personal foul tacked on 11 more yards to the Presbyterian 11. Desmin Jackson finished it two plays later with a 4-yard touchdown run.

Presbyterian's first possession lasted three plays, and its punt was blocked, giving Butler the ball at the Presbyterian 47. Six plays later, Passini found Drew Sullivan for a 21-yard touchdown with 2:20 left in the first quarter. It was 14-0.

The Blue Hose answered with their best drive of the half. Max Holtzclaw hit Deverious Abercrombie for 30 yards to the Butler 24, and Presbyterian reached the 9. But the drive stalled, and K. Bailey's 27-yard field goal try missed early in the second quarter.

Penalties Keep Presbyterian Alive, Briefly

Butler's defense spent the middle of the second quarter fighting its own mistakes. On Presbyterian's field goal drive late in the quarter, a Butler personal foul and two pass interference calls moved the ball from midfield to the Butler 4. The Bulldogs held there. Will Beesley and Luke Green combined on a 7-yard sack, and Presbyterian settled for Bailey's 28-yard field goal with 2:35 left in the half.

Butler answered before the half. Starting at their own 22, the Bulldogs moved 50 yards in 11 plays, with Passini running for 12 and Michael Dellumo catching two short passes to set up E. Windley's 45-yard field goal as time expired. Butler led 17-3 at the break.

Turning Point: The Third-Quarter March

The game's defining drive came after halftime. Butler forced a punt, took over at its own 20 and went 80 yards in 12 plays over 7:20. Keith Long Jr. caught an 18-yard pass, Nick Munson added catches of 5 and 16 yards, and Passini did the rest on the ground, including a 14-yard run on second-and-20 after a holding penalty.

On third-and-6 from the Presbyterian 19, Passini ran right for a 19-yard touchdown with 4:45 left in the third quarter. That made it 24-3, and it left Presbyterian needing three scores with less than 20 minutes to play.

Presbyterian's Trick Play

The Blue Hose did find one big moment. Facing fourth-and-8 at their own 34, Presbyterian ran a trick play, and Noah Perrin, listed by ESPN as a kicker, threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Eric Nelson. It was Presbyterian's only completion of more than 30 yards and cut the deficit to 24-10 with 2:45 left in the third.

That was as close as it got. Butler drove to the Presbyterian 11 on its next possession, but a holding penalty wiped out what would have been an 11-yard Passini touchdown run, and L. Hoss blocked B. Janki's 38-yard field goal try.

Butler's defense made sure the block did not matter. Cooper Paukstis sacked Holtzclaw on first down, Presbyterian punted, and the Bulldogs answered with an 11-play, 51-yard drive that included a fourth-and-1 conversion by Dellumo at the Presbyterian 30 and a 21-yard Passini run to the 3. Janki's 22-yard field goal with 3:37 left made it 27-10. Presbyterian's final drive ended on downs at its own 30, a few plays after Payton Foley sacked Zay Batten, who fumbled before the Blue Hose recovered.

The Players Who Decided It

Passini was the best player on the field. He completed 16 of 25 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, and his 162 rushing yards came at 9.0 yards per carry. Several of his biggest runs came on third down.

Munson led Butler with seven catches for 50 yards, and Sullivan had four for 44 and the touchdown. Jackson ran 14 times for 40 yards and a score, and Dellumo added 42 yards on 11 carries.

Linebacker Jackson Stratton led the Butler defense with 12 tackles, nine of them solo. Green had nine tackles and a half sack, and Foley and Paukstis each had a sack as Butler finished with three.

For Presbyterian, defensive back Ryan Largin made 17 tackles, and Noah Taylor added eight. Damion Moate led the Blue Hose with 34 rushing yards on eight carries.

The Numbers That Matter

Butler outgained Presbyterian 394 to 207 and had 25 first downs to 14. The Bulldogs' 12-of-18 mark on third down was the biggest reason for the 41:30 to 18:30 edge in time of possession.

Butler did hurt itself with 10 penalties for 102 yards, including two holding calls that took points off the board. Against a team that could not move the ball consistently, it did not matter. Presbyterian ran 28 times for 87 yards, and its quarterbacks other than Perrin combined to complete 9 of 21 passes for 54 yards. Neither team committed a turnover.

The full numbers are in the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab).

What It Means

For Butler, this was a business trip handled the right way. The Bulldogs followed last week's 33-21 win over Drake with another win built on ball control, and they are 4-1 in the PFL. Dayton is also 4-1 after a 44-34 win at Stetson on Saturday, so the top of the league stays crowded.

For Presbyterian, it is a second straight loss after a 24-7 defeat at Valparaiso last week, and a second straight week in which a blocked punt hurt. The Blue Hose are 3-3 in league play, with a trip to Morehead State on Nov. 14 and a home game against Dayton on Nov. 21 still ahead.

The Last Word

Presbyterian had one trick in the bag and it worked. Butler had a quarterback who could run the ball 18 times and a defense that never let the Blue Hose string anything together. Over four quarters, that was more than enough.

Sources: ESPN box score, play-by-play and team stats. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Butler Athletics.