MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia's zone-read option spread offense was supposed to be tweaked this season with new motion here, there and everywhere.

Who knew it would be nothing more than arm motion from quarterback Pat White?

Is that all there is?

Actually, the Mountaineers' attack under a retooled coaching staff isn't quite so Peggy Lee (Yes, Coach Bill Stewart is old enough to understand that, too). Stewart decided, prior to Saturday's season-opening 48-21 win, to play vanilla against Villanova.

However, White throwing 33 passes and hitting a Mountaineer Field record-matching five touchdowns does give East Carolina something more to think about -- even without other backs and receivers in motion -- when WVU visits the Hokie-poking Pirates late Saturday afternoon.

It was a college football debut weekend when five Bowl Championship Series teams were taken down by those outside the rich-get-richer neighborhood.

ECU's neutral-site (Charlotte, N.C.) upset of then-No. 17 Virginia Tech echoed with Utah-Michigan, Bowling Green-Pitt, Arkansas State-Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech-Mississippi State.

It was worth a trip to the history books, as was WVU's victory.

The Pirates, who topped No. 24 Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl to finish last season, became the first school in Conference USA history to win back-to-back games over nationally ranked teams.

The Pirates also are the first C-USA team to beat a ranked team from a BCS conference since host Louisville (pre-Big East) toppled No. 4 Florida State in September 2002. No C-USA team had beaten a ranked BCS club away from home since Southern Mississippi blanked No. 13 Alabama in 2000 at Legion Field in Birmingham.

As for the Mountaineers, the last time they won while throwing so many passes (White 25-of-33, Jarrett Brown 1-of-1) was in Game 2 of the 1999 season in a 43-27 win over Miami of Ohio. That was retired Don Nehlen's second-to-last year on the sideline with Marc Bulger taking snaps. WVU was 20-of-36 in that game.

As long as we're doing research, West Virginia hadn't completed as many as 26 passes in a game since hitting 31-of-52 in a 32-20 loss at Maryland in Coach Rich Rodriguez's debut season of 2001.

As for the other side of the ball?

Imagine what White might have done if he had been so armed and dangerous against the Mountaineer defense, which allowed I-AA Villanova an advantage of nearly 15 minutes in time of possession.

The Wildcats ran 87 plays (31 more than WVU). The last WVU foe to top that in regulation was 91 snaps for host (and losing) Boston College in a November 2003 game. Louisville had 93 in the storied triple-overtime comeback win by West Virginia here in 2005.

The Mountaineer defense, with only three returning starters, has to get off the field to give White and Co. an opportunity display the increased versatility that's evident on the offensive side of the ball.

For example, WVU completed passes to only 11 players in 13 games last season. Eight Mountaineers caught passes in one game to start 2008.

Putting nine men in the box, Villanova decided WVU's game plan on the fly. The Mountaineers threw on 34 of 56 plays -- a 61-39 pass-run ratio. It looked like WVU was running the West Coast (of the Monongahela River) offense.

Stewart said he went into the game -- by the way, his first home win as a head coach since VMI topped The Citadel in two OTs in the "Military Classic of the South" in 1996 -- figuring on a 65-35 run-pass ratio.

That's only a few plays a game different from Rodriguez's WVU teams. The Mountaineers ran on 70.3 percent of their plays in 2007.

The run-pass ratio was a low 57-43 in 2001, Rodriguez's first season (3-8, when WVU often had to try and play catch-up and Brad Lewis was pitching it). From 2002-07, the lowest run ratio was 69.5 (in 2004), with a high of 76.4 the next season.

Watching how the numbers fluctuate with new coordinator Jeff Mullen calling plays will be one of the pieces of intrigue about a WVU season that already became a lot more eye-opening with ECU's tripping of the Hokies.

One thing is certain. After watching White throw 33 passes Saturday, it's apparent that Tony Caridi won't be the only WVU game-caller getting plenty of air time in 2008.