MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Hardly anything was made of it, which is understandable, at least for the time being, but West Virginia's vaunted running offense managed only 149 yards in its season-opener.

It's the lowest total in, well, just two games, but it's been swept under the rug because it was anything but a repeat of that previous low.

You know it as 12/1/07.

Perhaps it was a case of dizziness from following flying footballs around the field or just sheer euphoria from seeing an offense completely neutralize a defense's best plan, but the Mountaineers did not run the ball very well or very often against Villanova.

So poor was the performance that Coach Bill Stewart flatly said, "I didn't like the way we ran the ball" behind an offensive line returning five starters and ranked by some opinions as the best in the nation.

"We averaged seven yards per carry and you may say that's good, but if we blocked like we should have on a couple plays, we may have averaged 17 yards per carry," he said.

Of course, Stewart made that bed by refusing to run at a defense that put nine players near the line of scrimmage virtually every play. The Mountaineers threw the ball and threw it some more to make a point they no longer suffered from the single-minded sins of the past.

You can bet it was aimed at East Carolina, which has had great plans the past three years against WVU's run and had great success before last year's uncharacteristic 48-7 blowout.

"Maybe they're going to say, 'You know what, Pat White can do this again with his arm,'" Stewart said.

Maybe the Pirates, who allowed WVU 280 total yards rushing in 2005 and 2006 combined and could have won either or both of those games had things gone a little different, were spooked watching the Villanova tape and have to play a little more straight up than they have in the past.

Maybe rain or wind -- especially the latter -- from Hanna makes passing a little difficult. Maybe Hanna is long gone and forgotten and the heat and humidity becomes a factor by wearing down players on both sides.

Maybe the Mountaineers were playing possum and want people to think they're a passing team.

No matter what scenario, this game at ECU is shaping up to be one in which WVU needs to run the ball more and better than it just did and one in which the backups get more than three total carries.

"We need to get in a better flow if we can, sure," Stewart said. "But I don't know if East Carolina is going to come up with a different scheme. I don't think they'll make a whole lot of wholesale changes. Why? It's worked."

The difference, though, is this version of the Mountaineers is willing to adapt. They're not scared to throw, not even in the rain. If the Pirates attempt to outnumber WVU up front as they have in the past, they'll be greeted with passes over the top of their defense.

Yet if WVU was so clever as to surprise Villanova, believe ECU, which just beat Virginia Tech, is clever enough to take note and then take it into consideration as it formulates a game plan with better players than Villanova had to offer.

The Mountaineers hope they forced ECU to disperse the crowd along the line of scrimmage. They must then take advantage, but also get Noel Devine more than nine carries and get more for his backups. Jock Sanders, the starting slot receiver and Devine's default backup, carried just twice against Villanova. Freshman Mark Rodgers, the backup by the depth chart's definition, carried once.

They need more, particularly Rodgers, who has safely established himself ahead of the other contenders.

It will be those three again this week -- and perhaps longer. Neither Zach Hulce nor Terence Kerns dressed for the opener. Hulce had a shoulder stinger and is doubtful this week, although the coaches are eager to get him healthy and on the field.

"I feel like Zach can give us what we need," running back/slot receivers coach Chris Beatty said. "He's a bigger guy who can be good when those situations come around."

Kerns seemed to be the bigger back the team had in mind, but he was healthy for the opener and simply didn't dress as he continues to slowly acquiesce, perhaps toward a redshirt.

"I don't ever want to say someone is definitely redshirting because you never know with injuries," Beatty said, "but I think if he doesn't play in the third or fourth game, something drastic would have to happen to change our mind."

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