With West Virginia wallowing at 1-1 for the first time in five years and almost falling out of the Top 25 where it has resided for 46 consecutive polls, coach Bill Stewart lectured yesterday about turning back the clock to get the Mountaineers ticking again.

He spoke of returning this week to a "harder practice." He spoke of addressing defensive concerns such as deficient tackling and poorly disguised coverages. He spoke of reverting to a two-back offense and the belly option, rushing essentials the past few years.

And he spoke of finding a comfort zone somewhere between stowing those Fiesta Bowl memories and relocating a carefree attitude: "Don't panic, don't play tight, just go play."

So it sounds as if some changes are in the offing for Stewart and 25th-ranked Mountaineers, humbled by their 24-3 public spanking by East Carolina Saturday.

"Young people today don't realize, you can't just look at your Fiesta Bowl ring and expect more baubles to routinely arrive," Stewart said of players still basking in the afterglow of last season's Oklahoma upset. "You have to go earn that right each and every day, each and every week, each and every season."

In other words, there is considerable work to be done. With 11 days until they play at Colorado in another ESPN-televised affair, there is plenty of time to toil in the garage.

That means, to Stewart and the staff, defensive focus on tackling, coverages and stopping the opposition on third down far better than Saturday, when East Carolina converted eight of its first 13 third downs. One third-and-13 stood out: Four Mountaineers missed running back Brandon Williams on a simple screen and he gained 14 yards.

"You can't let stuff like that happen," an obviously rankled Stewart said. "A flare, swing pass. My gosh, they're just trying to get a field goal. ... Unbelievable."

Pass rush and coverage were problematic, too: East Carolina completed its first nine passes (the 10th was dropped) and 18 of 20 (the other was batted at the line). "I don't think we're disguising well enough," Stewart said. "We're making it easy on the quarterback."

His quarterback, Patrick White, and the Mountaineers' offense failed to muster a touchdown for the first time in 82 games (Miami's 45-3 rout in 2001). They came close just once in 11 possessions and Stewart prescribed a belly remedy. He wants the unit to utilize more of the zone read and up-the-gut option runs, even if it means consistently deploying a converted tight end/fullback, Will Johnson, who isn't near as complete a fullback as the departed Owen Schmitt.

"The belly option is what we're lacking," Stewart said. "Pat can read it, pull it or pitch it. We're going to work really hard on that this week. Then we get a chance to control the ball more, maybe have more success on third down."

By the time newly minted No. 14 East Carolina rang up its three-touchdown lead, White had retreated on 17 designed pass plays that produced this eyesore: One drop, three sacks, four times flushed from the pocket to scramble, five completions and 44 yards total.

Noel Devine, meantime, had the ball maybe too little. He accumulated 75 yards on eight carries in the 31 Mountaineers snaps by the time East Carolina had its cozy lead.

"If we execute, we shouldn't be able to be stopped," White said.

West Virginia's fall of 16 spots in the poll marked the program's biggest single tumble in an Associated Press weekly ranking in its history. Eleven spots in October 1989 was its previous farthest drop.