James Butler: RB · Iowa · #20.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
James Butler
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. The four seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Brian Polian and Kirk Ferentz. A game that shows it: 74 rushing yards against Ohio State — Week 10, 2017.
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
20.2% of carries overall (90/445) → 17.6% of Q4-with-lead carries (16/91) — 56.2% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
3 of the team's 20 inside-the-5 carries (15.0%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
KCCI Oct 28
FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul Oct 27Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2017 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 24-3vs Wyoming | 10 | 47 | 4.7 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 2 | W 44-41@ Iowa State | 10 | 37 | 3.7 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 3 | W 31-14vs North Texas | 16 | 74 | 4.6 | 0 | 12 | Season-high 74 yds |
| Wk 9 | W 17-10vs Minnesota | 11 | 28 | 2.5 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 10 | W 55-24vs No. 3 Ohio State | 10 | 74 | 7.4 | 0 | 53 | |
| Wk 11 | L 14-38@ No. 6 Wisconsin | 8 | 30 | 3.8 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 12 | L 15-24vs Purdue | 7 | 38 | 5.4 | 0 | 25 | |
| Wk 13 | W 56-14@ Nebraska | 9 | 36 | 4.0 | 1 | 12 | |
 Bowl | W 27-20vs Boston College | 10 | 32 | 3.2 | 0 | 13 | |
| Total | 91 | 396 | 4.4 | 1 | 53 |
Week 10 · 2017
W 55-24
vs Ohio State
74 rush yds (10 car)
Dominant 31-point win at home against Ohio State.
With N. Stanley — 226 yds · 5 TD · 0 INT · QBR 82.7 · C. Rastetter — 18 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 100.0 · 7 rush yds (1 car)
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
43%81 carriesFumble rate
2.2%2 of 91 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.4 yds/carry on 91 carries · 10% explosive (10+ yds) · 43% success rate.
Splits · Per-game
2017 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 52.2 | 4.9 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 34.3 | 3.8 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 47.5 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 41.2 | 4.6 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Pass share
42.9%
355 pass / 473 run
Plays / game
63.7
13 games
Team sack rate
6.7%
374 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2017
About as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
How it ended
Four seasons, at Nevada and Iowa, 3,712 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 47 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2014–2017
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Brian Polian and Kirk Ferentz.
