But there they were on Saturday, shining from start to finish in the Mountaineers' 31-0 opening-game win over Coastal Carolina.

The punting game, which was probably the biggest question mark of this season, was superb. New punter Gregg Pugnetti, who spent all of spring and fall camp just winning the job from transfer Corey Smith, averaged 49.2 yards on six punts.

He put three inside the 20, three were 50 yards or better and West Virginia's net punting average was a magnificent 48.7 yards.

But if punting was the biggest question going into the season, kickoff coverage remained the No. 1 priority after failing miserably the last two years, But on Saturday it was superb.

Smith was the kickoff man and put three of his six kickoffs to the goal line or in the end zone and two others inside the 10. The other was a pooch kick that came down at the 18.

It was what happened after the kicks, though, that was encouraging. Coastal's returns were for 10, 22, 20, 18, 9 and 16 yards. That gave the Chanticleers field position at the 19, 22, 20, 18, 27 and 22-yard lines.

This from a unit that in each of the past two years was just as likely to put its defense on the field near midfield as anywhere else after a kickoff.

"It's all about the plays,'' said safeties coach Steve Dunlap, who is now in charge of the team's most troublesome special teams area. "That and Corey kicked the ball well.''

It was more than just the kicks, though. Coastal's return men never had a chance to get any running room and even turned the ball over on one kickoff.

"It's about the players. And we went back to fundamentals and basics,'' Dunlap said. "And a lot of our best players wanted to play on that team.''

Indeed, West Virginia's best defensive player, safety Robert Sands, was on the kickoff team. So, too, at times was Brandon Hogan, generally regarded as the team's best open-field tackler.

"Those guys don't like to be starting from the 50-yard line, either,'' Dunlap said.

All things considered, there probably was no pivotal play in Saturday's game. Lopsided shutouts don't generally turn on only one play.

But this one was saved from intrigue by one - Hogan's interception at the end of the first half.

West Virginia only a few moments earlier was knocking on the door and about to go up 17-0 when Tavon Austin fumbled the ball through the end zone for a touchback.

Coastal couldn't do anything with the ball there, but with 1:13 left Geno Smith threw an interception and the Chanticleers had the ball at the WVU 21 with a chance to make the halftime score 10-7 or 10-3.

But on the first play, Zach MacDowall went for it all and threw a pass into the back of the end zone. Hogan, a former receiver, made a spectacular diving catch and managed to get a foot down in the back of the end zone for the interception to preserve the halftime shutout.

"The quarterback threw the ball and I just dove for it,'' Hogan said. "I didn't know where I was. I just tried to get my foot down.''

The interception was the ninth of Hogan's career and the first since he picked one off against Marshall last October. The Mountaineers play Marshall again on Friday in Huntington, a 7 p.m. game set for ESPN.

Briefly

Coach Bill Stewart said after the game that Bowers' injury was not serious, thanks to the knee brace all the linemen wear.

Eain Smith also started at safety in place of Sidney Glover, although Glover played extensively in the third-down package.

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