What was supposed to be an offensive showcase between two of junior college football's most prolific offenses, turned into a defensive battle.
Butler didn't have enough knock out punches in them, falling to #1 Iowa Western 27-7, Sunday afternoon.
The Grizzlies finish the season 11-1 and likely the second ranked team in the country.
"Very proud of the way our kids battled because it would have been very easy to shut it down," head coach Troy Morrell said after the game. "But that's not the Butler way. They were going to continue to fight and I'm just sorry we couldn't bring that (trophy) home to Kansas."
Both teams averaged over 500 yards of offense a game coming in but neither team eclipsed that number at the UNI-Dome, home stadium of Northern Iowa.
Butler was hampered by bad quarterback play and turnovers. Starting quarterback Billy Cosh was just 7-20 for the first half, and threw two interceptions. The second was an 88-yard return for a touchdown that dropped the Grizzlies 14-0 at halftime.
Worse still, Cosh injured his knee on the play and didn't return to the game.
The Reivers kept getting opportunities on turnovers, picking off backup Tyler Harrison, ultimately subduing the Grizzlies.
This is Iowa Western's first national title. It would have been Butler's seventh in school history.
