Ben Sauls kicks five field goals, including game-winner, as Pittsburgh beats UCLA in Sun Bowl

Tippecanoe High School graduate Ben Sauls kicked a 47-yard field goal with four seconds left to give Pittsburgh a 37-35 victory against No. 18 UCLA in the Sun Bowl on Friday in El Paso, Texas.

Sauls, a redshirt sophomore, made five goals in the game: kicks of 22 and 49 yards in the first quarter; and kicks of 31, 27 and finally 47 yards in the fourth. He also made 2 of 2 extra points.

Pittsburgh started the final drive on its 25-yard line with 34 seconds left. Nick Patti completed passes of 18 yards and 17 yards and then ran for 11 yards to give Sauls a chance from the UCLA 29.

Sauls made 15 of 19 field goals in the regular season and all 45 of his extra points. His season-long field goal was 51 yards.

In Pittsburgh’s opener, Sauls kicked a 42-yard field goal and made all five of his extra-point attempts Thursday in a 38-31 victory against West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl.

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At Tippecanoe, Sauls was a Division III All-Ohio first-team selection. He kicked field goals of 55 yards and 49 yards, twice breaking the school record, against Fairborn as a senior in 2019. He was the 12th-ranked placekicker in the class of 2020, according to 247Sports.com.

Sauls also played soccer for Tippecanoe and ranked third in the Miami Valley League with 19 goals as a senior.