MORGANTOWN — One possession. That was the length of time it took to gauge the potential success of East Carolina's offensive makeover.

Normally it would take weeks of deliberation to produce a fair judgment on such a dramatic philosophical shift. And rarely would an outing in which the result was a deficit of 33 points and 381 yards warrant such a resounding verdict of affirmation.

But after one series in the Pirates' 56-23 loss to No. 10 West Virginia Saturday, there was more than enough evidence to issue a passing grade for new coordinator Noah Brindise's installment of the acclaimed Fun-n-Gun.

It was apparent the Pirates lacked the personnel to execute against a polished program with national title aspirations. That much was evident on the opening offensive play:

Trailing 7-0 after the first touchdown in bruiser Kay-Jay Harris' record-breaking night, ECU made a shift at the line and James Pinkney hit Marvin Townes in stride down the right sideline. But instead of a 30-yard grab and quick change in momentum, Townes dropped the pigskin like it was a bag of smoldering charcoal.

The ball's cruel descent foreshadowed a series of drops that plagued the Pirates throughout the game.

"That was probably the other thing — especially early — besides the poor tackling was some dropped passes," Pirates coach John Thompson said. "We've got to gain some confidence."

By and large, the offense was true to its design. East Carolina unveiled multiple formations and took its share of shots down field. The play calling didn't lack imagination and was anything but predictable.

Against faster athletes, ECU found ways to get behind the defense — but too often lacked the precision to execute when the margin was still respectable.

"We knew we wanted to come in and take a few shots down field," Brindise said. "We hit a few, but too little too late.

"We've just got to get better. We've got a long way to go. We dropped too many balls. James wasn't particularly crisp early, but I thought he got a lot better as the game went on."

Perhaps the brightest spot in this woodshed whipping was the play of the Pirates' greenhorn gunslinger. Though off early, he recovered late in the first half to display the type of playmaking ability that marked the careers of former aerial aces around which ECU's program was built.

When protection broke down, Pinkney, who tallied 322 yards and three touchdowns, possessed the poise to elude pressure and create. His commitment to involve several teammates was a testament to his coming-of-age amid adverse conditions.

"It was his first time playing in front of a crowd that big," Brindise said. "He's not a kid that really shows a lot of nervous emotion.

"I just stayed on him, stayed with him. He stayed focused. ...He did a really good job of getting out of some good situations when some protections broke down."

Out of focus was a rushing attack that boasts a pair of 1,000-yard rushers but produced only 59 yards. On rare occasions when ECU's makeshift line opened holes, they were quickly filled by a Mountaineers defender.

Even when Townes and Art Brown found open field, they moved in slow motion compared to the rabbit-quick West Virginia D.

"We need to run the football better," Brindise said. "We need to get the ball in Art and Marvin's hands a little bit more. But when you get behind by that much, you want to try and have some quick scores. We got away from running it a little bit there for a while, but we know that eventually will be what we want to do."

My guess is they'll be successful, too. While the remaining schedule isn't loaded with cupcakes, it also isn't stocked with prime rib.

If you're searching for the silver lining in this opening-season loss, look no further than Brindise. In one game, his offense produced more excitement than 2003 as a whole.