Raspy-voiced redshirt freshman fullback Ryan Clarke injected the power run game back into the repertoire of the West Virginia offense last Friday night during the Mountaineer’s 24-21 loss to Cincinnati. That much became apparent after watching Clarke carry the football just five times, but for 60 yards, including a sensational 37-yard rumble for a touchdown, in the second quarter.

Shortly following the demoralizing three-point defeat at the hands of the Bearcats, Clarke shared his thoughts on unleashing the power rushing attack in games to come.

“If we run it, it’s going to work,” said the 6-foot, 228-pound bruising back. “If we don’t run it as much, we’re not going to do as well during games.”

Clarke certainly may be correct.

Conventional thinking would question why Clarke only got five carries, despite his prodigious yardage production. 

“I was happy getting the plays that I got,” he said. “We kept doing that. It was working for us. I don’t know what happened, to be honest.”

No play call from WVU was more controversial than the third down and nine decision to run 5-foot-7, 178-pound slot back Jock Sanders, not Clarke, up the middle, late in the fourth quarter, down seven points. 

Head coach Bill Stewart explained he had already decided prior to third down that his team was going for the tie and was in two-down territory, with more than five minutes left on the clock, as well as having all three timeouts in pocket.  The play call with Sanders was intended to set up a more manageable fourth and five scenario. It is up for interpretation whether or not going for the jugular coincides with conceding a running play that has little chance to score, coming from the 25-yard line. Instead it set up a critical fourth down conversion attempt, on the road, against the undefeated and No. 5-ranked team in America.

“It was discussed, but I like the ball in No. 9’s [Sanders] hands,” Stewart said on Monday. “He has been doing really well. Not that Clarke hasn’t, but I like the ball in No. 9’s hands and I like the play we called.”

Cincinnati liked it too, as Sanders was tackled after only gaining a yard, then all but knew WVU would be forced to go to the air on fourth and eight.

“Cincinnati made a nice play and did a good job,” Stewart said. “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Before the Cincinnati game, Clarke had only been given 28 carries on the season, but produced 91 yards and five touchdowns. Running back Noel Devine, a household name among college football followers, has much to do with that disparity. Devine has racked up more than 1,000 yards for a second straight season, along with 10 touchdowns this year, and became just the fifth running back in school history to accumulate more than 3,000 rush yards in a career.

Though Devine can be as hard to tackle as it is landing the phone number of a supermodel, his 5-foot-8, 175-pound shoulders can’t carry the rigors of 25 to 30 carries per game, for an entire season. Stewart has been adamant about that and understandably so.

The thunder to Devine’s lightning, as offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen calls it, exists squarely with Clarke. Together, the tandem of rushers should be able to give opposing defenses looks they’d rather only see in their nightmares.

Clarke’s teammates see the potential in switching gears from finesse Ferrari speed, to raw diesel power.

“I would’ve liked to see us run more with Ryan because he’s the bigger guy,” said right guard Joe Madsen.

“Clarke ran pretty tough,” quarterback Jarrett Brown said. “He did a job of seeing the holes and keeping his feet. Yards after contact, I thought he did a great job.”

Perhaps Clarke presented a match-up problem that the Bearcats specifically couldn’t handle. The book was out on Cincinnati’s rush defense: a week earlier, Connecticut running back Jordan Todman gashed the Bearcats for 162 yards and four touchdowns.

WVU was watching.

“The majority of the plays this week, we tried to run power offense trying to attack them because we knew they can’t handle power football and power running,” said Clarke.

Maybe that match-up won’t be there in coming games -- Mullen is charged with determining that. Mullen does, however, see the obvious potential in this new facet of his offense. “All year long, he’s been a nice addition to running in between the tackles,” he said of Clarke.

The question then becomes, will WVU dial up Clarke against Pitt, Rutgers, in the bowl game and beyond?

“I don’t know,” Clarke said. “Only time will tell.”