Inside The Panthers

Two Pitt Players Receive ACC Weekly Honors

Two Pitt Panthers received ACC Weekly honors for their peformance in win vs. Cal.

Dominic Campbell

Nov 19, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers place kicker Ben Sauls (90) kicks the ball to the Duke Blue Devils during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Nov 19, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers place kicker Ben Sauls (90) kicks the ball to the Duke Blue Devils during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers had two players earn ACC weekly honors after their slim, 17-15 win over Cal in Week 7 at Acrisure Stadium.

Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Scott earned ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors and redshirt senior placekicker Ben Sauls earned ACC Specialist of the Week honors, with both making important plays in the victory.

Scott had his best game of the season for the Panthers against the Golden Bears. He made six tackles (five solo), 3.5 tackles for loss and three sacks for loss for 17 yards lost.

Two of those sacks came on the same drive and he made life incredibly difficult for Golden Bears redshirt sophomore quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The Panthers made a season-high six sacks in the game, putting on their best defensive performance of the season.

Sauls made both of his extra points and a career-long 58 yard field goal to put Pitt up 17-6 over Cal in the second quarter.

That field goal tied the longest in program history, with Alex Kessman against Boston College on Oct. 10, 2020, and ranks as the longest at Acrisure Stadium for a Pitt kicker, as Chris Boswell of the Pittsburgh Steelers made one from 59 yards there.

This is the second ACC Specialist of the Week honor that Sauls has earned in 2024, as he had a great performance on the road vs. Cincinnati in Week 2.

Sauls hit three field goals, the first from 47 yards and the second a career-long of 53 yards right at the end of the first half, scoring the first six points of the game for the Panthers. He would finish off the game with a 35-yarder with less than 30 seconds remaining, which capped off a 21 points comeback from midway in the third quarter, over the Bearcats.

He is perfect on the season, going 10-of-10 on field goals and 28-of-28 on extra points. He also had 38 touchbacks on kickoffs in 2024.

Pitt is now 6-0 for the first time since 1982, when they started 7-0 with Hall of Famer Dan Marino at quarterback. The sixth win also makes Pitt bowl eligible, after missing out last season with a 3-9 record.

They got their first ACC win of the season in Week 6, defeating North Carolina 34-24 on the road on Oct. 5, for their first ever win in Chapel Hill.

Pitt finished the non-conference 4-0 and undefeated for the first time ever, as they joined the Big East Conference in 1991, previously playing as an independent.

They blewout Kent State 55-24 in the season opener on Aug. 31 and FCS opponent Youngstown State, 73-17, on Sept. 21. They also made comeback victories over Cincinnati in Week 2 and rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl at home on Sept. 14, 38-34.

Pitt will have a bye week for Week 8 and then return to face Syracuse at home on Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m., their first primetime game of the season.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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