Focused on the hold, his left toe, the football, Pitt's Ben Sauls gets kick from perfection

Ben Sauls has a confession to make.

Despite the enthusiasm and energy inside Acrisure Stadium, the high hopes surrounding the undefeated Pitt team and what can be called one of the best vantage points in the house, he doesn’t watch the games.

At least half the time, anyway.

It’s all part of his continual process of visualization and preparation, leading so far to perfect execution. After hitting two more field goals in Thursday night’s 41-13 win over Syracuse to extend his school-record streak of good attempts to 14 over two seasons, he is the most reliable member of Pitt’s offense. Overall, he’s 45 for 45, with 12 field goals and 33 extra points.

BETTER CALL SAULS ????@bsauls22 extends his record to 14 consecutive field goals in Pitt history ????@Pitt_FB | @Pitt_ATHLETICS | #H2P | #HailToPitt pic.twitter.com/aw3OEIJOqt

— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) October 25, 2024

Sauls credits his almost daily meditation sessions that lead to unwavering confidence and results in a straight line from his left big toe to the center of the uprights.

Of course, his confidence has limits. Two weeks ago, Sauls tied the Pitt record with a 58-yard field goal in a 17-15 victory against California. Narduzzi joked that Sauls asked him to take an intentional delay-of-game penalty so he could break the record.

Obviously, Sauls knows better, and he didn’t even think about making such a request Thursday night before he hit from 57 yards against Syracuse.

“It gets a little chilly in Pittsburgh,” he said. “The ball doesn’t fly as far. That was a good one; 57 is a good number for me.”

Most impressive about Sauls’ perfect season has been the distance of his field goals. Seven have been from 47 or longer; four 50 or more. Plus, he’s been clutch, beating Cincinnati, 28-27, with a 35-yarder with 17 seconds left.

“If I’m an NFL GM,” linebacker Rasheem Biles said, “I’m using a draft pick on that guy. He’s a sniper, best kicker in the nation.”

Sauls, who is one of six kickers across the FBS without a missed field goal, has scored 69 points, tying him with SMU’s Collin Rogers for third in the ACC, 14th in the nation. That sets up a Texas showdown next Saturday when No. 19 Pitt visits the No. 22 Mustangs. If SMU wins at Duke on Saturday, the game in Dallas would be Pitt’s first against a ranked opponent.

But that’s in the future, a distant future because Sauls will tell you he has a lot of work to do next week to prepare for Pitt’s most important game to date.

“My confidence comes from preparation. I have the absolute best holder (Cam Guess) and snapper (Nico Crawford) in the country. They provide a perfect snap, (perfect) spot, perfect hold. I never see laces.”

(If the ball isn’t spun correctly with the laces faces away from the kicker, the kick often goes awry.)

“That makes my job so much easier,” he said. “I put the cherry on top of the unit.”

Sauls said he relies on the trio’s weekly process.

“I know the ball’s going to be there, so I have all the confidence in my unit,” he said. “I know my leg is elite, and if I put my leg to the ball, it’s going to go in.”

He said the score or circumstances don’t matter.

“The score is in my head 0-0 throughout the game,” he said. “We can be up by 50 or down by 50; it doesn’t affect me. Half the time I don’t even watch the game because my job is very unique in the fact that it doesn’t matter. For me, it’s the same steps and approach and the kick. I treat it like that every time.”

Sauls is proud to say Pitt’s seven victories have come from all three phases of the game — special teams (Cincinnati), offense (comebacks engineered by quarterback Eli Holstein) and defense (a total of 10 sacks and five interceptions in the most recent two victories).

“Altogether, we won games as a team,” he said. “If we continue to do that, we’re going to be really dangerous. It’s nice to see, especially this time of year where we’re at situationally in the season, being 7-0 going forward. The ACC needs to watch out.”

Asked what keeps everyone humble, he said it’s rooted in preparation.

“We understand who we’re playing, and we understand who we are,” he said. “By that I mean, we put respect on the teams we play. We knew Syracuse is a really good football team, and we got the best of them. But we knew what our preparation was — every single day we had to get better.”

As a 23-year-old, fifth-year senior, Sauls can be counted on to gauge the pulse of the team and his teammates’ feelings.

“Closest team I’ve been a part of,” he said. “I think that’s very unique. It speaks to our chemistry as a team and our success as a team.

“Preseason, nobody predicted this. We knew that going into it. I think that made us closer. So, good on (the critics).”