Pitt Football | Postgame at Cincinnati | Ben Sauls | 9.7.24

easy uh I don't consider any of them too easy um it definitely helps with the confidence we know we've been there we've done it we've seen the situation um but I wouldn't say no it doesn't make anything easier just got to stay focused stay locked in and um that's how I mean I expected that you know you got to expect it and gota be ready for it twice at the end of the first half and the end of the second half this team gets in field goal range to get you a chance to score and you're able to put that you're able to put it through the uprights what can you say about your teammates to give you those chances yeah like yeah so yeah it's a combination of of great teammates great coaches a great plan um and I'm blessed to have a great line you know good snap and hold um but Eli knows he knows get the ball across the 50 we're going to have a a dang good shot at at getting some points so it's a combination of all that speaking of what was just his demean like know starting offly just kind of building up and beding that come he's a ball player and he knows that the game's not over until the clock hits zero there was a lot of time left um and like I just you know he's a ball player he's seen it before it's on his first time facing adversity something this team's first time facing adversity um so he red he rallied the troops and obviously we had a great comeback um it seemed like it would have been good from 55 60 yard what's the longest you made before outside the game practice uh we were at practice a couple weeks ago hit 68 so we got range um you know that's not ideal if you're going to do that in a game but um comfortable 60 in it is comfortable and uh I think that was 52 53 so yeah just hit a good ball and went down the middle and it was good from some distance oh yeah yes sir yeah it's fantastic um I had a lot of family and a lot of friends there um my home is 40 minutes up the highway so to do it here um against Cincinnati you know in my home state in front of my friends and family it was unbelievable um and it's funny they all said it too before the game they said you know I think it's going to be a great story today so it turned out that it just happened to be me you men some before all that expence you sure you know I've I've uh I've been on a ride you know with the ups and the Downs throughout my career um hasn't always been super smooth um but we've had some highlights and like I said we've had some downs and um that provides you the pieces to put the puzzle together and uh I think today everyone got to see that the the puzzle's put there it's all together and uh we can we can really really really perform when we put it together we talked about the team before why do you think you guys responded better today maybe than you did last season uh we got a new attitude and and we got a new team and and a new staff and um you know we we expect that of ourselves we we had a very tough off season we worked really really hard we prepared for moments like that um and to get that opportunity as a team to come out and do that it shows all the work we put in coach Bowski help help you get better at what you do he just Believes In Me uh in the fullest he he truly thinks I'm I'm extraordinary um I think I'm extraordinary but it's not you don't always get to show that um but he just pushes my confidence day in and day out and uh we've seen some really good results from that what was the emotion like after making a game winner and what went into your celebration after that um yeah you know student section was saying a lot of comments towards the pit team so that was getting on my nerves a little bit I gave him a little UC um but uh no we try not to have any emotion um we try to stay right right in the middle um with with our emotions and uh you know like I said it's a wave of emotions all all day but if you stay neutral we we practice neutral thinking in our specialist room um until that clock hits zero then you can celebrate a little bit um or until that ball goes in or or you do what you want to do um but it's neutral thinking I give a lot of props to that did you see Javon at the end of the game the game ST chasing down I didn't see it I didn't notice it um I hit my Sally and then I got to see my team mates and then we had a game to finish so I think there was some time on the clock so that was the most important uh part of that was finishing the game I think it's huge for for us and for our confidence and and for who we are and and uh today like I said showed the results that um you know all the preparation all the work we put in this offseason uh we got to see it come in place today um so that just bows our confidence and Trust in each other going forward 68 is your range 68 you know at practice having some fun um but comfortably yeah 60 and in 60 and in if if I got a little braz on my back 62 63 but um comfortable is 60 you're from Tip City yeah I'm from Tip City Ohio you switch to backward pit yeah that's right that's right tip and pit yeah it's it was uh it was cool a lot of people gave me a lot of stuff for that um obviously when I made that move to go to Pittsburgh but yeah 45 minutes 50 minutes up the highway up 75 and uh you know I spend a lot of time here at the University of Cincinnati uh coming up in my Recruitment and um to do it here like I said it was it was phenomenal