Week 7 Stats: 118 rushing yards, 12 carries, 9.83 yards per carry, 2 rushing TD, 1 receiving TD
Butts’ career-best outing led Duquesne to a big 44-20 win over visiting Central Connecticut on Saturday and landed him NEC Offensive Player of the Week distinction for the first time this season. The redshirt sophomore and Missouri transfer put together his finest outing in a Dukes uniform to date after he rushed for a season-high 118 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Leading all NEC running backs with 9.83 yards per carry, Butts added a touchdown catch to his stat line to finish with three on the afternoon. The St. Louis product got the scoring going early, as he capped the Dukes’ first two drives of the game with a 2-yard touchdown catch and a 15-yard touchdown run. Butts went on to do more damage in the opening half with a career-long 58-yard run that put Duquesne in front, 27-3, with 6:10 left before intermission. With the win, the Dukes are the only remaining undefeated team in conference play with a 2-0 mark. He is averaging 92.5 yards on the ground in Duquesne’s two league wins to rank second in the circuit, while his 70.0 rushing yards per game rank fifth overall in the conference. With Butts’ weekly award, a Duke has been recognized by the NEC in each of the past three weeks, as running back Edward Robinson earned consecutive NEC Rookie of the Week honors in on Oct. 2 and Oct. 9.