Pitt notebook: Road victory held hometown feel for Ben Sauls, Rasheem Biles

Included in the crowd of 37,992 that witnessed Pitt’s 28-27 victory against Cincinnati on Saturday were several friends and family members of kicker Ben Sauls and linebacker Rasheem Biles.

Biles grew up in Columbus, Ohio, 97 miles from Cincinnati. Sauls’ hometown of Tipp City, Ohio, is only 40 minutes up the highway from where his 35-yard field goal split the uprights to give the Panthers a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

“It’s fantastic,” Sauls said. “To do it here against Cincinnati, in my home state, in front of my friends and family is unbelievable. They all said it, too, before the game, ‘I think it’s going to be a great day today.’ It turned out it just happened to be me.”

Sauls carries lofty expectations for himself and confidence that he said is rooted in “a very tough offseason.”

“We prepared for moments like that.”

Sauls said he’s comfortable in his ability to convert field goals from as far away as 60 yards. The 53-yarder at the end of the first half Saturday looked like it could have been good from about 60.

He said while “having some fun” in practice recently, he hit from 68.

“Eli (Holstein, quarterback) knows, get the ball across the 50, we’re going to have a dang good shot at getting points,” Sauls said.

He credits special teams coach Jacob Bronowski with believing in him.

“He truly thinks I’m extraordinary,” Sauls said. “I think I’m extraordinary, but I don’t always get to show that.”

Helping the kid out

Holstein, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman, threw for 302 yards in his first college game on the road, and he did so after a slow, uneven start to the game. Pitt didn’t score its first touchdown until there were only 46 seconds left in the third quarter.

He credits his teammates on offense for keeping his confidence up.

“Those guys, especially those leaders, those seniors on offense … they believe in me. They helped me believe in myself.”

Injury report

Pitt played the game without injured left guard Ryan Jacoby and they lost his replacement, Jason Collier, for a short time with a hamstring injury.

“He came back (into the game) and fought through it,” coach Pat Narduzzi said of Collier.

He said it

Holstein said running back Desmond Reid, who scored on a 56-yard catch-and-run, is built different than most players.

“He’s a guy you can get the ball 2 yards down the line and he’s going to go get you 70,” the quarterback said. “He’s from south Florida. He was raised a little different. He’s a guy who’s as tough as nails.”

And he said it

“We fought back. That shows a lot,” Reid said. “That’s what I’m really happy about. I’m happy about what I did, but I’m proud of what the team did.”

Notable

The comeback from a 21-point deficit in the second half was Pitt’s largest since Oct. 9, 1971, when Pitt trailed Navy, 35-10, at halftime and went on to win, 36-35, at Pitt Stadium. … Pitt had no interceptions, but collected six quarterback hurries and six tackles for a loss. … Caleb Junko averaged only 31.7 yards per punt, including a 12-yarder in the second half.