COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – BYU junior tight end Dennis Pitta was named Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. Pitta shared the honor with Wyoming running back Devin Moore, who rushed for career highs of 234 yards and three touchdowns in Wyoming’s home victory over San Diego State.
Pitta caught a career-high 12 passes for a game-best 175 yards and made two key fourth-quarter touchdown grabs, including the game winner with just 22 seconds remaining, to help BYU win on the road at Colorado State on Saturday.
The Mackey Award candidate hauled in 10 of his 12 receptions in the second half to account for 156 of BYU’s 222 passing yards over the final two quarters. With BYU trailing 28-24 in the third quarter, the junior tight end from Moorpark, Calif., caught four passes, three for first downs, and gave the Cougars their first lead of the game when he fought off two defenders to pull down a 23-yard touchdown reception on a third-and-15 play.
On BYU’s final drive, and the Cougars trailing 42-38 with 1:36 remaining in the game, Pitta caught two passes for first downs, including the 17-yard reception for the game-winning touchdown with just 22 seconds remaining. In the fourth quarter, five of his six receptions were for first downs as he helped the Cougars score 21 points for the road win.
For the game, Pitta converted first downs on 9-of-12 catches while averaging 14.6 yards per reception. His two touchdowns tied a career high he previously achieved this season against UCLA. He has six touchdowns for the season.
Pitta (BYU), Moore (Wyoming), Jerry Hughes (TCU) and Louie Sakoda (Utah) were named Mountain West Conference Players of the Week. Pitta and Moore share Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Hughes garners the Defensive Player award and Sakoda receives Special Teams recognition. Sakoda collects his league-record 11th career weekly accolade, while Moore earns his third weekly award and Hughes claims his second career honor. This marks the first weekly award for Pitta.