MORGANTOWN - In retrospect, Bill Stewart said Monday that he would likely take the same approach to West Virginia's crucial late-game series against Cincinnati that he took during Friday night's game: Go for the make-or-break touchdown.

Whether the Mountaineers would then have gone for a 2-point conversion and the win would have been another question.

It all became moot when the Mountaineers failed to convert on either third or fourth down at the Cincinnati 25-yard line with 5:23 to play and trailing the Bearcats 21-14. Cincinnati then drove quickly for a field goal and the Mountaineers countered with a late touchdown, but lost 24-21 when they couldn't execute an onside kick.

But with two weeks to prepare for the Backyard Brawl against Pitt a week from Friday, it provides plenty of time for those third- and fourth-down plays to be debated for both the plays that were called and the decision not to settle for a field goal to close the gap. Also up for debate was Stewart's declaration afterward that had his team been able to score at that point he was ready to go for a 2-point conversion rather than a safe kick and a 21-all tie.

First, the third down play, which was a shotgun handoff in the middle to little backup tailback Jock Sanders on third-and-9. West Virginia had enjoyed success with a power formation featuring Will Clarke and blocking backs/tight end Ricky Kovatch and Will Johnson. If Stewart was committed to running the ball and using two downs to get a first down, why not Clarke, especially with Noel Devine sidelined with an accumulation of ankle, hip and hamstring injuries?

"It was discussed, but I like the ball in [Sanders'] hands,'' Stewart said. "Not that Clarke hadn't [been successful], but I like the ball in [Sanders'] hands, I like the play we called. The guy from Cincinnati made a nice play and did a good job. I hate it, but we still had a fourth down.''

Sanders gained just one yard, though, and on that fourth-down play Cincinnati blitzed and quarterback Jarrett Brown had to scramble. He wound up throwing the ball incomplete into the end zone with a Bearcat defender holding onto his leg.

"I wasn't pleased with the protection, but he still got the throw off,'' Stewart said. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat with two downs.''

As the game turned out, though, a field goal there would have countered Cincinnati's eventual field goal on the next drive. And although a lot of other things could have happened to change matters, the late touchdown the Mountaineers eventually got on a 3-yard Brown-to-Bradley Starks pass would have been a tying score - or a winning one if a 2-point conversion there had been tried and was successful.

Stewart passed on the field goal, though, which would have been from about 41 yards and within the range of Tyler Bitancurt, who is 8-of-9 this season on field goals.

"It's still a plus-40-yard kick. Can he make it? Yes. Has he made them? Yes,'' Stewart said. "Would we have made it? We'll never know.''

MORGANTOWN - In retrospect, Bill Stewart said Monday that he would likely take the same approach to West Virginia's crucial late-game series against Cincinnati that he took during Friday night's game: Go for the make-or-break touchdown.

Whether the Mountaineers would then have gone for a 2-point conversion and the win would have been another question.

It all became moot when the Mountaineers failed to convert on either third or fourth down at the Cincinnati 25-yard line with 5:23 to play and trailing the Bearcats 21-14. Cincinnati then drove quickly for a field goal and the Mountaineers countered with a late touchdown, but lost 24-21 when they couldn't execute an onside kick.

But with two weeks to prepare for the Backyard Brawl against Pitt a week from Friday, it provides plenty of time for those third- and fourth-down plays to be debated for both the plays that were called and the decision not to settle for a field goal to close the gap. Also up for debate was Stewart's declaration afterward that had his team been able to score at that point he was ready to go for a 2-point conversion rather than a safe kick and a 21-all tie.

First, the third down play, which was a shotgun handoff in the middle to little backup tailback Jock Sanders on third-and-9. West Virginia had enjoyed success with a power formation featuring Will Clarke and blocking backs/tight end Ricky Kovatch and Will Johnson. If Stewart was committed to running the ball and using two downs to get a first down, why not Clarke, especially with Noel Devine sidelined with an accumulation of ankle, hip and hamstring injuries?

"It was discussed, but I like the ball in [Sanders'] hands,'' Stewart said. "Not that Clarke hadn't [been successful], but I like the ball in [Sanders'] hands, I like the play we called. The guy from Cincinnati made a nice play and did a good job. I hate it, but we still had a fourth down.''

Sanders gained just one yard, though, and on that fourth-down play Cincinnati blitzed and quarterback Jarrett Brown had to scramble. He wound up throwing the ball incomplete into the end zone with a Bearcat defender holding onto his leg.

"I wasn't pleased with the protection, but he still got the throw off,'' Stewart said. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat with two downs.''

As the game turned out, though, a field goal there would have countered Cincinnati's eventual field goal on the next drive. And although a lot of other things could have happened to change matters, the late touchdown the Mountaineers eventually got on a 3-yard Brown-to-Bradley Starks pass would have been a tying score - or a winning one if a 2-point conversion there had been tried and was successful.

Stewart passed on the field goal, though, which would have been from about 41 yards and within the range of Tyler Bitancurt, who is 8-of-9 this season on field goals.

"It's still a plus-40-yard kick. Can he make it? Yes. Has he made them? Yes,'' Stewart said. "Would we have made it? We'll never know.''

The idea was to put pressure on Cincinnati. Again, the series of plays came with the clock winding down from roughly six to 51/2 minutes.

And it was the clock, Stewart said, that was the key issue - not where it was, but where it would be had the Mountaineers been successful in converting either that third or fourth down. The series ended at the 5:23 mark with the failed fourth-down play, but had West Virginia converted and continued to plug away, there was a hope that a touchdown would come inside three or perhaps even two minutes.

"I was debating [being] on the road, how much time was left on the clock,'' Stewart said. "If it had been five minutes, if we had scored on that play, I would have gone for one [and the tie].

"I thought if we could burn two more minutes and if we could score burning that, then with three [minutes] or under I was going to go for two. We were ready. I told [the offensive coaches] to get a call ready, to get our best call ready in case I wanted to do it. It was going to be a feel thing.''

Briefly

"That ballgame's behind us. It's over. It's in the books,'' Stewart said. "Somebody said it was in Saturday's sports [page] - 24-21 and it can't be changed.''

Stewart did later say that he didn't understand why some plays can be reviewed and others cannot. His reference was to an uncalled pass interference against wide receiver Alric Arnett, but replays are only designed to be used on plays that involve possession, the borders of the field (out of bounds or goal lines) or ball placement.

Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.