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West Virginia faces upstart East Carolina

Sep 6, 2008 - 11:36 AM No. 8 West Virginia (1-0) at East Carolina (1-0), 4:30 p.m. EDT

GREENVILLE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- West Virginia came out throwing as promised, as Pat White tossed a career-high five touchdowns in last week's 48-21 romp over Villanova.

But after having their way against an overmatched opponent from the Football Championship Subdivision, the eighth-ranked Mountaineers could have a tougher test Saturday when they visit East Carolina, which is trying to upset its second straight ranked opponent.

After being mainly an option team under former coach Rich Rodriguez, new West Virginia mentor Bill Stewart has said he wants to pass more to take advantage of White's ability.

Against a less-talented opponent, White set career highs in passes and attempts, completing 25-of-33 passes for 208 yards. He accounted for 271 total yards, breaking Marc Bulger's previous career school record for total offense.

Villanova dared West Virginia (1-0) to throw, keeping nine players on the line, and Stewart obliged.

"Offensively, I tried to say way back - particularly to most of the (media) experts in this room - if you put nine people in the box, we're going to throw the football," Stewart said. "I don't know how to run with nine in the box."

Now, the Mountaineers face an East Carolina team that is on a high following its 27-22 upset of then-No. 15 Virginia Tech. The Pirates (1-0) beat the Hokies at their own game, as T.J. Lee blocked a punt and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown with 1:52 remaining to erase a 22-20 deficit.

The win came in the same week that ECU coach Skip Holtz signed a six-year contract. Holtz has guided the Pirates to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1999 and 2000.