MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Bill Stewart's first game as West Virginia coach Saturday will be spent as equal parts spectator, special teams coordinator and supervisor.

"I won't be nearly as involved in play-calling as I was (at the Fiesta Bowl)," said Stewart, who as the interim coach in January pulled many of the offensive strings in the 48-28 victory against Oklahoma.

"I told the guys I'll have the headset on, but I'll be more into special teams. I want to make sure the special teams coordinator has that part of the game together. That's my top priority.

"I have a great offensive staff and defensive staff. They don't need input from me. I'll listen to the play calls, but I'll never listen to the defensive line. I have more of a braintrust than a man deserves over there. I don't need to worry about that."

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WVU'S OPENER against visiting Villanova will be a lot like the other 11 in the regular season in that the opposing defense will be forced to devote a lot of attention to quarterback Pat White and running back Noel Devine.

What that can do, Stewart said, is make Jock Sanders "the most valuable player on our football team."

"Outside of Pat White," Stewart said, making sure to state the obvious. "People might say, 'How can that be?' He's our backup running back. He's the starting slot receiver. He returns kicks and punts and he could probably go in and play quarterback. He was a tremendous (high school) quarterback in St. Petersburg, Fla."

Sanders carried the ball 16 times last year and caught 12 passes, but the longest went for just 23 yards -- nearly a quarter of his 102 total yards.

"We're going to do more than throw bubble screens to him," Stewart said. "We're going to try to get the ball to him downfield. We'll try to horizontally stretch the defense for spacing, but we have to get the ball to Jock Sanders, not just on bubble screens. For us to be successful, we have to take the heat off (White) and (Devine) and Jock Sanders figures very big into our plans."

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STEWART IS less concerned about the outcome than he is about the performance within.

"No injuries would be nice, but what's a nice win?" he said. "I think if we're blocking, tackling, hitting and hustling, I'll be pleased, regardless of the score.

"If fans want to come and say, 'Entertain me,' I don't go with that. I don't want to be entertained. I want to see a good football game. There are going to be some stressful situations and I want to see how we react."

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VILLANOVA TRAILED Maryland 10-7 at halftime in last year's season-opener.

"Everyone was really pumped up," Wildcat quarterback Antwon Young said. "We felt like we were in the game and the momentum was there, the team chemistry was there, the opportunity was there."

The Terrapins scored a touchdown in the middle of the third quarter and won 31-14.

"That has me worried," Stewart said.

The Wildcats have 17 starters back, including eight on offense. They're ranked No. 19 in the preseason Division I-AA coaches' poll -- yet are picked to finish fourth in their division the Colonial Athletic Association.

"This is a team that's supposed to make a run in the conference," Stewart said. "I'm hoping they do, but I hope they don't begin until September."

Young is back from a torn ACL and stands behind five returning starters on the offensive line. The defense has seven starters back, including all-CAA lineman Tim Kukucka and All-CAA linebacker Osayi Osunde.

"I think one of the things we have going for us is we have six or seven defensive linemen that can play," Coach Andy Talley said. "That'll help because they're going to be tired just from running as much as (the Mountaineers) do. So we're pretty deep there and fairly deep at the linebacker position. Our front seven has a number of guys we think can play.

"The positive on the offensive side is we do return all five linemen, which I think will obviously help us a lot, especially because we're breaking in two young running backs. They both played last year, but not a lot. They're both game-breaker kids with speed who can catch and run the football.

"We're more of a running team than we were last year. When we lost Antwon, his backup wasn't as good of a passer so we became more of a running team and that helped our offensive line come together."

Contact sports writer Mike Casazza at mi...@dailymail.com or 304-319-1142. His blog can be found at blogs.dailymail.com/wvu.