November 24, 2009

Steve Megargee
Rivals.com College Football Staff Writer

Rivals.com Power Rankings by Position: QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | DB | ST
Coaches Power Rankings: Head Coach | Off. Coordinator | Def. Coordinator

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall insisted Saturday that the Cougars didn't make any conscious decision before the game to get the ball to Dennis Pitta.

But when you have the nation's most productive tight end in your offense, he often finds a way to get himself involved.

"No plays were designed specifically for Dennis," Mendenhall said after the Cougars' 38-21 victory over Air Force. "It's just how it worked out and how they played against us. Max [Hall] did a really good job identifying Dennis when he was open and getting him the ball."

Pitta caught nine passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns against Air Force. Pitta, a senior, has 214 career receptions - one shy of the school record held by Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Austin Collie. Pitta's latest big performance makes him the new No. 1 tight end in the Rivals.com College Football Power Rankings, which measure the nation's top performers at each position.

The two-touchdown effort allowed Pitta to move ahead of Pittsburgh's Dorin Dickerson, who was idle last week. Although Dickerson has more touchdown catches, Pitta leads all tight ends in receiving yards (753), catches (55) and receiving yards per game (68.5). Both are finalists for the Mackey Award, given annually to the nation's top tight end, along with Florida's Aaron Hernandez.

Pitta's move represented the only change at the top of the power rankings this week.

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, Alabama running back Mark Ingram, Texas wide receiver Jordan Shipley, Oklahoma State offensive tackle Russell Okung, Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain, Tennessee strong safety Eric Berry, Florida coach Urban Meyer, Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis and Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong remained atop their respective positions.

The power rankings are released each Tuesday during the regular season. The ranking of a player and coach can fluctuate each week during the season depending on how he fared the previous week. The power rankings measure overall career performances as well as their most recent results. Our coordinator rankings exclude coordinators who don't call their own plays or signals.

Rivals.com Power Rankings by Position: QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | DB | ST
Coaches Power Rankings: Head Coach | Off. Coordinator | Def. Coordinator

Steve Megargee is a national writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at smegargee@rivals.com.