Normally upbeat, Bill Stewart was a mite downbeat yesterday about the play of West Virginia's defense a day earlier against Division I-AA Villanova.

In a season's early stages, the new coach said, a slow-jelling offense needs a defense to carry the team.

"That didn't happen," Stewart said of the No. 8 Mountaineers' 48-21 triumph Saturday. "That's why it frustrated me that we couldn't get off the field.

"... Finishing plays. The chemistry. Where we're going to be. Banging receivers. 'Backers [covering] underneath. Safeties inconsistent. Hesitant with some blitzes. We just have to get [all] that better."

True, Villanova managed just two touchdowns until the game's final second, when the second-team defense failed to stop a third-and-goal at the Mountaineers' 1. Still and all, the Wildcats proved difficult for West Virginia to halt: 28 first downs, 87 snaps, 266 yards passing and 12.7 yards per completion, 37:22 time of possession. All of those dwarfed numbers posted by West Virginia's vaunted offense. Villanova also had 11 passes and three rushes that gained 12 yards or more.

Nine of Villanova's 11 drives carried into West Virginia territory. Helping to stop such bleeding was a Villanova punt blocked by J.T. Thomas, plus a fumble returned halfway across the field and an interception returned for a touchdown by Gateway High product Mortty Ivy.

"It looked to me like we were sideways," Stewart said, meaning players were moving more laterally than forward. "Our minds and our feet weren't in cohesion. Our defense needs to carry our offense. Our defense has to pick it up and go. We're going to get better next week [for East Carolina]. I'm sure they're looking at that film and going, 'Wow.' "

Added Thomas, a starting linebacker, "We'll become a lot better by watching the films. We all just have to start playing our roles."

Stewart sounded as if the Mountaineers were keeping open the slight possibility they could sit out senior middle linebacker Reed Williams, their leading tackler and Fiesta Bowl defensive MVP last year, and keep him around for another, more-healthy season.

"What we don't want to do with Reed Williams is waste a year for five plays a game," the coach said, referring to Williams' slow recovery from offseason surgery on both shoulders. "If Reed Williams cannot play [at East Carolina] or decides not to play. ... We'll know more about that Tuesday after that padded practice and see from there."

Williams, whom Stewart and the staff decided not to sit out Saturday, was replaced by Pat Lazear, who started and later returned to finish behind safeties Boogie Allen and Quinton Andrew with seven total tackles, and Anthony Leonard, who had five tackles.

Of surging East Carolina, a historically vexing foe for the Mountaineers and one likely further stoked by its home opener on ESPN this weekend after upending then-No. 17 Virginia Tech, 27-22, in Charlotte, N.C., Stewart remarked: "They had a game of games. I got to see a little of it. I know this: They played pretty well against the Virginia Tech Hokies. And when you play well against Virginia Tech, you're doing pretty darn good."

Stewart was more complimentary of his offense than he was his defense, but still found faults: "What I didn't like was, I didn't think we blocked as well as we should have on the perimeter. I didn't like how we dropped the ball [five times at least]. I did not like the way we ran the football; I didn't. If we had blocked like we were capable on a couple of zone [reads], we might have averaged 17 yards a carry." ... The coach expects Woodland Hills receiver Wes Lyons to return soon to the receiver rotation after missing two weeks due to arthroscopic knee surgery. ... Yet another junior-college transfer arrival "has a chance" to contribute, Stewart said: 6-foot-2, 210-pound receiver Gino Crump II of Washington, D.C. had 20 catches for 342 yards last fall at Glendale (Ariz.) Community College.