CLINTON, S.C. (Interstat) — Gabe Passini accounted for two touchdowns and Butler used a pair of first-quarter scores to build a lead on the way to a 27-10 NCAA Football Championship Division victory over Presbyterian on Saturday at Bailey Memorial Stadium. Butler improved to 7-2. Presbyterian fell to 4-5. A crowd of 2,435 attended the game.

Butler entered the game after a 33-21 victory at Drake. The Bulldogs also have wins over Georgetown of Kentucky 27-23, Franklin 52-0, Chicago State 47-20, San Diego 41-10 and Valparaiso 33-28 this season, with losses to Montana State 51-24 and Dayton 19-9. Presbyterian entered after a 24-7 loss at Valparaiso. The Blue Hose have wins over UVA Wise 47-37, Saint Thomas of Minnesota 55-21, Davidson 38-21 and Stetson 47-43, with losses to Mercer 62-3, Western Carolina 58-14, Marist 42-7 and Valparaiso 24-7.

Passini, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound quarterback from Middleton, Wis., completed 16 of 25 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown and ran 18 times for 162 yards and one score. He was Butler’s top performer. Desmin Jackson added 14 carries for 40 yards and a touchdown and returned a kickoff 6 yards. Michael Dellumo ran 11 times for 42 yards, caught two passes for 12 yards and returned two kickoffs for 36 yards. Nick Munson caught seven passes for 50 yards and ran once for 8 yards. Drew Sullivan caught four passes for 44 yards and a touchdown. Keith Long Jr. had one catch for 18 yards, Max Supe one for 16 and Michael Nix one for 5.

Butler opened the scoring in the first quarter when Jackson ran left for a 4-yard touchdown with 7:53 remaining and Beck Janki made the extra point for a 7-0 lead. Later in the quarter, with 2:20 left, Passini completed a short pass to Sullivan, who caught the ball near the Presbyterian 3 and scored for a 21-yard touchdown. Janki’s extra point made it 14-0. Janki finished with three extra points and a 22-yard field goal.

Presbyterian’s Kade Bailey missed a 27-yard field goal with 14:05 left in the second quarter and made a 28-yard field goal with 2:35 left before halftime to cut the deficit to 14-3. Butler’s Evan Windley made a 45-yard field goal as the second quarter ended for a 17-3 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Passini ran right for a 19-yard touchdown with 4:45 remaining and Janki kicked the extra point for a 24-3 lead. Presbyterian answered when Noah Perrin hit Eric Nelson for a 66-yard touchdown and Bailey made the extra point to make it 24-10. Nelson finished with one reception for 66 yards, two kickoff returns for 23 yards and one touchdown. In the fourth quarter, a Passini 11-yard touchdown run was nullified by a Butler holding penalty. Janki had a 38-yard field-goal attempt blocked by L. Hoss, but he later made a 22-yard field goal with 3:37 remaining to close the scoring at 27-10.

Max Holtzclaw completed 6 of 16 passes for 53 yards and ran seven times for 10 yards for Presbyterian. Damion Moate led the Blue Hose with 34 yards on eight carries. Jackson Burleson ran six times for 21 yards. Anton Smith had one run for 3 yards, one catch for 12 yards, a 14-yard kickoff return and a tackle. Deverious Abercrombie caught one pass for 30 yards, Caleb Johnson had two catches for 13 yards, Jackson Thompson one for 3 yards, Sean McNamara one for 2 yards, Lucas Barz one for minus 3 yards and Brice Johnson two for minus 3 yards. Thatcher Hutton punted twice for 78 yards, an average of 39 yards per punt. Presbyterian finished with 53 passing yards and 68 rushing yards.

Ryan Largin led all players with 17 tackles for Presbyterian. Noah Taylor had eight tackles. Tymaries Durant had five tackles and a quarterback hurry. Jeremiah Johnson and Debo Hall each had five tackles. Andrew Ruppe and Nick McGill each had four. Gerald Danner, Bryce Stringer, Carson Freese and Langston Cook each had three. RJ Pooler, Luke Armstrong, Caleb Makovsky and Brock Feinberg each had two. Jalyn Turner, Dandrevius Dorsey, Malachi Gordon and Bennett Baumgartner each had one, and Hugh Wilkinson had a quarterback hurry.

Jackson Stratton led Butler with 12 tackles. Luke Green had nine tackles, half a sack and a quarterback hurry. Payton Foley had two tackles and a sack. Tristan Johnson had two tackles. Andrew Lieske, Mason Armstrong, Okemdi Eze and Kian Kelly each had three tackles. Butler’s defense held Presbyterian to 10 points. Butler finished with 145 passing yards and 252 rushing yards.

Passini’s previous recent performance came against Drake, when he completed 6 of 16 passes for 118 yards, ran 19 times for 87 yards, punted once for 26 yards and accounted for one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown.

The Bulldogs scored on two first-quarter touchdowns, a field goal before halftime, a third-quarter touchdown and a fourth-quarter field goal. Presbyterian scored on a 28-yard field goal by Kade Bailey and a 66-yard touchdown pass from Noah Perrin to Eric Nelson. Butler’s Beck Janki made three extra points and a 22-yard field goal, while Evan Windley made a 45-yard field goal. Presbyterian’s Kade Bailey missed a 27-yard field goal and made a 28-yard field goal.

Butler is scheduled to host Saint Thomas of Minnesota in its next game, then visit Marist and host Morehead State. Presbyterian will visit Morehead State before hosting Dayton. Butler has won two straight games, and the Blue Hose have lost two straight. Both teams return to action in their next scheduled games.

Before the game, Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Presbyterian 39, Butler 34. Interstat’s ELO system projected Presbyterian with a 50.9 percent probability to win.