MORGANTOWN - Where, oh where has West Virginia's high-powered offense gone?

The numbers are fairly well known by now, but for the sake of clarity and as an update, chew on this:

That's a drop of 11.6 points, 112 yards and almost 100 yards passing per game from the first five to the last five. The completion percentage has dropped from 69 percent to 62 percent, passing touchdowns from eight to four and in the last four games (as opposed to the first six) even the rushing yards per game have nosedived, from 208.5 to 166.8.

In fact, the only things more prevalent than the dropping numbers are the fingers being pointed as to why. One can feel free to choose the most popular among fans from a list that includes a lousy offensive line, even lousier coaching, an uptick in the level of competition, personnel choices or injuries.

The truth, though, probably lies somewhere buried in the middle as a combination of some or all of those factors. And anyone who wants to blame coaching may feel free to do so, says offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen, who admits that it ultimately falls upon him and head coach Bill Stewart to "take the heat.''

Then again . . .

"I think sometimes we get reality and perception a little bit skewed as to who we are and what we've got,'' Mullen said. "Our first 11 are pretty special. And I think we're going to be pretty special down the road. But [that future right now is] true freshmen.''

Indeed, much of the high expectations for West Virginia's offense going into this season were based upon the Mountaineers' skill-position talent and what was generally regarded as an outstanding recruiting class. Mullen's point, though, is that the skill level drops precipitously beyond the high-profile starters - tailback Noel Devine, quarterback Jarrett Brown, receivers Jock Sanders, Alric Arnett and Bradley Starks, etc. - and the newcomers are probably at least a year away from true stardom.

So what the offense is left with is that handful of talented skill-position players trying to stay healthy behind a young and overworked offensive line. There are plenty of spare parts to plug into the holes, but most are true freshmen who aren't ready yet.

Nowhere is that more glaring than on the offensive line, where the five starters - tackles Selvish Capers and Donnie Barclay, guard Josh Jenkins and alternating center-guards Eric Jobe and Joe Madsen - have taken every meaningful snap in all 10 games.

"We've only played with five guys on every offensive rep. That's got to be a first,'' Mullen said. "I would really wonder how many Division I programs have played the same five guys on every rep the whole year. They're beat up. We knew going into the year they were young, so now they're young and they're beat up. That's a bad combination.''

So far, the offensive line has managed to play 10 games without any serious injuries. That's not the case among the skill position players, though.

 "I'm not trying to make an excuse, but if you're asking me the question then take [the offensive line] and add in that Noel has been playing with an ankle injury for three weeks,'' Mullen said. "So you take your No. 1 offensive threat away - or at least half his production away - and then start talking about another kid playing with a concussion.''

That, of course, would be Brown, who now seems fully past that hard hit he took early in the Marshall game a month ago. But after missing just the game in which he was injured, Brown returned a week later against Connecticut and has played every snap since. While Brown was physically well enough to pass all the tests to allow him to play, might that have affected his performance?

MORGANTOWN - Where, oh where has West Virginia's high-powered offense gone?

The numbers are fairly well known by now, but for the sake of clarity and as an update, chew on this:

That's a drop of 11.6 points, 112 yards and almost 100 yards passing per game from the first five to the last five. The completion percentage has dropped from 69 percent to 62 percent, passing touchdowns from eight to four and in the last four games (as opposed to the first six) even the rushing yards per game have nosedived, from 208.5 to 166.8.

In fact, the only things more prevalent than the dropping numbers are the fingers being pointed as to why. One can feel free to choose the most popular among fans from a list that includes a lousy offensive line, even lousier coaching, an uptick in the level of competition, personnel choices or injuries.

The truth, though, probably lies somewhere buried in the middle as a combination of some or all of those factors. And anyone who wants to blame coaching may feel free to do so, says offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen, who admits that it ultimately falls upon him and head coach Bill Stewart to "take the heat.''

Then again . . .

"I think sometimes we get reality and perception a little bit skewed as to who we are and what we've got,'' Mullen said. "Our first 11 are pretty special. And I think we're going to be pretty special down the road. But [that future right now is] true freshmen.''

Indeed, much of the high expectations for West Virginia's offense going into this season were based upon the Mountaineers' skill-position talent and what was generally regarded as an outstanding recruiting class. Mullen's point, though, is that the skill level drops precipitously beyond the high-profile starters - tailback Noel Devine, quarterback Jarrett Brown, receivers Jock Sanders, Alric Arnett and Bradley Starks, etc. - and the newcomers are probably at least a year away from true stardom.

So what the offense is left with is that handful of talented skill-position players trying to stay healthy behind a young and overworked offensive line. There are plenty of spare parts to plug into the holes, but most are true freshmen who aren't ready yet.

Nowhere is that more glaring than on the offensive line, where the five starters - tackles Selvish Capers and Donnie Barclay, guard Josh Jenkins and alternating center-guards Eric Jobe and Joe Madsen - have taken every meaningful snap in all 10 games.

"We've only played with five guys on every offensive rep. That's got to be a first,'' Mullen said. "I would really wonder how many Division I programs have played the same five guys on every rep the whole year. They're beat up. We knew going into the year they were young, so now they're young and they're beat up. That's a bad combination.''

So far, the offensive line has managed to play 10 games without any serious injuries. That's not the case among the skill position players, though.

 "I'm not trying to make an excuse, but if you're asking me the question then take [the offensive line] and add in that Noel has been playing with an ankle injury for three weeks,'' Mullen said. "So you take your No. 1 offensive threat away - or at least half his production away - and then start talking about another kid playing with a concussion.''

That, of course, would be Brown, who now seems fully past that hard hit he took early in the Marshall game a month ago. But after missing just the game in which he was injured, Brown returned a week later against Connecticut and has played every snap since. While Brown was physically well enough to pass all the tests to allow him to play, might that have affected his performance?

Remember a year ago when Pat White suffered a concussion and was replaced by Brown?

"When Pat got his [concussion] last year [in a game against Rutgers on Oct. 4] he sat out the next week against Syracuse, the following Saturday we were open and then we played the following Thursday [Oct. 23] against Auburn,'' Mullen recalled. "And he was almost not cleared for that Auburn game. That's 21/2, almost three weeks. And when you look at Jarrett, he went through UConn, South Florida and Louisville and now you see the light come back on.''

When considering what to do in regard to injuries to Brown and Devine, the true-freshman question comes back into play. Geno Smith replaced Brown during that Marshall game, but would he have been better than an 80-percent Brown after Brown was cleared to play? The coaches decided not. And the best running back option to replace Devine is considered to be Sanders, who knows much more about the responsibilities of the position than any of the true freshmen, but putting him there only weakens the team at slot receiver.

The slots are often the most important receivers for Brown because - and here's where it comes full circle - of the problems on the offensive line. Without an abundance of time to throw, the wide receivers don't have time to get open down the field, which makes shorter passes to slots and tight ends and backs the best option.

Even Brown admits as much.

"Throwing the ball downfield takes a little more time,'' Brown said. "A lot of people say I missed throws downfield early in the season, but that's because sometimes I try to help [the line] out by throwing it early. But that throws off the timing with the receivers, so I just try to hang in there as long as possible to make a throw downfield.''

It appeared the Mountaineers had something going in last week's 24-21 loss at No. 5 Cincinnati when they used big back Ryan Clarke in a power set. He ran for 60 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown run, but he ran the ball just five times.

Why not use more of the power running game?

"We actually did. We used it a lot,'' Mullen said. "We ran power off tackle something like 18 times. We ran an inside zone another 12 times.''

But most of those were with Devine or Sanders carrying the football with a fullback and/or a tight end in the game. Mullen insisted the ball carrier wasn't the critical aspect.

"You can put Clarke in there and grind out 4-yard runs, or you can put Noel and Jock and those guys in there with the same concept and you might hit the home run,'' Mullen said, correctly pointing out that when you put in a fullback and/or a tight end you also have to take out two of those elite skill-position players. And when you add Clarke to the mix, a third has to come out.

"We went with the thought process that [with Devine] we'll still get the 4 [yards], but they miss a shoestring and he's out the gate," Mullen said. "The funny thing is, the three or four reps that Clarke ran were blocked perfectly. The other 15 when Noel was running? Well, not so much. So the perception is that [Clarke] was the answer, but that wasn't the case.

"Jock and Noel are 50 percent of our entire production, and when you [go big] you're taking that right off the field.''

The answer, then, is to keep everyone as healthy as possible - skill players and linemen included. Perhaps a week off before next Friday's Backyard Brawl with Pitt will help accomplish that, at least in the short term.

"We need depth in the offensive line, and we've been playing some of the better defensive lines in the league,'' Mullen said. "And we're banged up with [Devine and Brown]. It's just not a good mix. If you really want an answer and pinpoint a problem, that's a pretty good place to start.''

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