Peacock football opened their season at the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl, falling to Butler by a final score of 40-7.
 
The Bulldogs put together the bulk of their scoring in the second and third quarters, totaling 27 points between the two as they pulled away from the Peacocks. 
 
The UIU offense worked through several kinks in the first quarter before converting their only touchdown of the game in the second period.
 
The Peacock's second possession of the game was dismantled by a Bulldog interception that was returned to the eight-yard line, followed by a touchdown several plays later. The home team took a 6-0 lead after missing the extra point.
 
With just over three minutes remaining in the opening stint, Zacarius Murray picked off a Bulldog pass and gave the Peacocks an opportunity at the 24-yard line. Two plays later, a pass was bobbled and picked off just shy of the end zone, giving Butler the possession right back.
 
Butler's second touchdown of the day came in the second quarter and was fueled by a 31-yard rush from Nick Howard to put them 19 yards shy of the end zone. Their quarterback then pitched a 16-yard pass to a receiver across the goal line, followed by a successful extra point to command the 13-0 lead with ten minutes remaining until halftime.
 
Upper Iowa put themselves on the scoreboard late in the second after a combination of their ground game and several short passes up-field. The returning duo of quarterback Darryl Overstreet Jr. and tight end Eddie Burgess connected on a toss of 16 yards into the end zone, trailing the Bulldogs 13-7 after Henry Vakerics converted the extra point.
 
Butler boosted their morale right before the intermission as they connected on a game-high 70-yard pass down the field leading to their third touchdown of the contest. They led 19-7 at the half.
 
The Bulldogs maintained their momentum in the third quarter as they pulled away from the visitors after putting up 14 more points, followed by another touchdown in the fourth.  
 
Upper Iowa rushed for 195 yards on 44 attempts, compared to Butler's 146 yards on 27 attempts. Jayden Mitchell compiled a total 85 rushing yards on the day, while RJ Wells tallied 83 with his longest run of 28 yards.
 
Butler threw for 242 yards, while Upper Iowa totaled 121. Mante Morrow led the team in receiving yards with 46.
 
The Peacock defense was led in tackles by Trevor Thompson with six, while Avery Dixon added four. Murray and Tyler Owen each nabbed an interception, and the team tallied two pass breakups.
 
Upper Iowa has their home opener next weekend on Saturday, Sep. 7 at 6 p.m. versus Concordia, St. Paul.