GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Not often does a coach single out the sixth play of the game for when momentum changed for good -- or in this case, for the worst. Yet rarely are the circumstances as they were for what Bill Stewart called the turning point in Saturday's 24-3 loss to East Carolina.

West Virginia, which fell from No. 8 to No. 25 in the Associated Press poll and No. 24 in the coaches' poll, was reeling after the Pirates opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown drive, but supplying answers of their own on the corresponding possession.

On third-and-five at ECU's 39-yard line, quarterback Patrick White rolled right and darted toward the first-down marker. He dived and reached beyond the marker and placed the ball on the turf with his left hand at about the same time his right hand landed out of bounds. The ball came loose, rolled slightly and came to rest just shy of the sideline.  

The Mountaineers assumed they had a first down and went back toward a huddle. ECU's Jay Ross scooped up the ball. The officials gave the Pirates possession, which gave the Mountaineers cause for confusion.

ECU's offense took the field and was joined by WVU's defense. Just when it seemed a whistle would blow to stop play and send a question to the replay booth, the Pirates snapped the ball.

"They checked it upstairs," Stewart said. "They told me it was checked and said it was done. I didn't have the best view in the house, but if seven officials and TV can't figure it out, they don't need my input."

Replays showed the play was at least questionable and worthy of review. That responsibility usually goes to the officials in the both.

"I thought they'd review it," White said. "I'm not sure why they didn't."

They officials never interceded, which left the decision to the Mountaineers. Stewart, who is allowed to request one review per game and can retain the challenge if it's upheld, never asked for a review.

White nearly called a timeout to allow his side to question the play, but stopped for some reason. Stewart, who was conferring with his assistants, including those in the coaching box above the field, did the same.

"I couldn't tell," said offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen, who was in the box. "There was a wall of purple around the ball."

Mullen had to rely on that one obstructed view because there was no television or monitor in the booth.

"That's unusual," Mullen said.

It was perhaps critical. A promising drive was interrupted and the Mountaineers were left unable to counter ECU's statement or the officiating crew's call.

They had two pursuable claims -- either White's right hand was out of bounds when he lost possession or the ground caused the fumble, which would mean the fumble never happened -- and might have had the play overturned.

Stewart would go no further Sunday than saying the ball was "on the ground," which is an ambiguous statement in this case.

"That was a big, big turning point, daggone it," Stewart said. "We had a first down or were at least close to a first down and we just never got in a rhythm after that."

ECU, which broke into the AP poll for the first time since 1999 at No. 14, had the game-opening drive plus a 14-play drive overlapping the first and second quarters. By that point, the Pirates had 28 plays to WVU's nine. The same team that threw 34 passes against Villanova had thrown none.

"The problem is we stopped doing what we should have been doing," Mullen said. "It felt like we were playing behind the eight ball because of some of the mistakes early on. That hurt us. We needed to get back to the zone block and the belly read and some of the things we've done in the past. It's hard to call those types of plays when you're behind like that."

The Mountaineers wanted to be balanced, even in attempting a comeback, but they were not. They threw seven times in the first half and 11 times in the second, but ran 17 times in the first half and 19 in the second. White completed 11 of his 18 passes, but for just 72 yards in a game his team trailed throughout. He was sacked three times and chased again and again.

"We've got to execute," White said. "If we execute like we should, they shouldn't be able to stop us, in my opinion. We need 11 to play as one. "They beat us up."

WVU finished with 251 yards of offense and ran just 54 plays, mostly because the offense converted only three of 12 third-down opportunities.

The Mountaineers, who had won seven in a row and 17 of 19 all-time against the Pirates, suffered their earliest loss since the opener in 2003 and are .500 for the first time since being 4-4 that same season.

"They got up 17-3 and I don't have a lot of answers to that right now," Stewart said. "We have too many freshmen and sophomores - not too say we're young - and we have a tremendous quarterback who needs some help. We have an offensive line that needs to show up when it's 17-3 so they pass block when we need to pass block, simple as that."