Oct. 3, 2009
Final Stats
Indianapolis, IN - Butler K David Lang, who missed two extra-point attempts in the game, put his failures behind him and connected on a 37-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to finalize a 25-24 Butler (5-0, 2-0 PFL) victory over the University of San Diego Toreros (2-2, 1-1 PFL) on Saturday afternoon at the Butler Bowl.
The back-and-forth affair eventually fell in Butler's favor after QB Andrew Huck led the Bulldogs 75 yards in 40 seconds to set up Lang's game-winning field goal. Butler was forced to start the final drive from their own five-yard line after USD P Kyle Negrete pinned them deep in their own territory with a 49-yard punt.
The Toreros had appeared to be in control of the game's outcome after sophomore DB Al-Rilwan Adeyemi intercepted a Huck pass near the USD goal-line with 3:30 remaining in the game, terminating a 4th-quarter drive by Butler. Adeyemi returned the pick to the 31-yard line of USD, but it was brought back to the 12-yard line after a penalty on the return. The Adeyemi interception was the also the Toreros' first of the season. The Toreros offense would drain much of the remaining time before relinquishing possession to the Bulldogs with 42 seconds left in the game.
The game opened with field goals from both teams before USD recorded the game's first touchdown on a one-yard touchdown by RB J.T. Rogan in the second quarter. The touchdown by Rogan was his 50th overall score in his career, tying him with former Toreros WR John Matthews for the school record. Also, Rogan's touchdown increased his career-point total to 302, tying him with Matthews for first-place in school history as well.
Butler responded to Rogan's touchdown with a score of their own following a 10-play, 68-yard drive. Butler RB Scott Gray rushed in from 12 yards out to bring the score to 10-9. The Bulldogs were unable to successfully complete the extra-point attempt, their first of two PAT misses in the game.
The Toreros salvaged any momentum lost from the Butler touchdown by stringing together an impressive 9-play, 68-yard drive engineered by QB Sam Scudellari. Redshirt sophomore TE Patrick Doyle registered three receptions and 50 receiving yards on the drive, including a 13-yard touchdown reception with 0:29 seconds left in the first half.
In the third quarter, K James Cullen could not deliver on a 50-yard field goal attempt for the Toreros, as his kick hit the cross bar and bounced back in an unfavorable direction for USD. Butler quickly responded to the missed attempt with a 43-yard touchdown run by Ryan Hitchcock late in the third quarter. Lang missed his second PAT attempt, setting the score at 17-15 entering the fourth quarter.
Offensively, USD was led by Scudellari and RB Matt Jelmini. The redshirt freshman Scudellari was 17-for-28 with 175 passing yards and one touchdown pass in his first career start. He also rushed for 49 yards on 8 attempts. Jelmini, who entered Saturday's game with 54 yards rushing on the season, led all USD rushers with 112 yards on 22 attempts while scoring a touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter to cap the Toreros' scoring.
The USD loss snapped a 7-game winning streak the Toreros owned against Butler.
USD will look to rebound from the tough loss when they return to the state of Indiana to take on the Valparaiso Crusaders in a PFL-contest on October 10th for an 11:00 a.m. PST kickoff at Brown Field.
