For the Hawai'i football team, the good news of being No. 14 in the Bowl Championship Series standings was tempered by the likelihood that starting safety Keao Monteilh will be lost for an extended period.

Monteilh, a fourth-year junior who also was used as a nickelback, suffered an injury to his left shoulder in the third quarter of the Warriors' 50-13 victory over New Mexico State Saturday night.

"It took the luster off the win for me," defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said. "He's done such a great job, and he's such a great kid. I feel really bad for him and for us."

X-rays taken during the game, Monteilh said, showed "something." He is scheduled to undergo extensive medical tests today.

The Warriors have a bye this weekend before closing the regular season with four games in four weeks. In the "best" scenario, Monteilh said, he expects to miss "one or two" games.

But Monteilh has been told he probably suffered a fracture in his left socket.

"If that's the case, I'm probably out for the season," he said.

Monteilh said the recovery period for a socket injury is "six to eight weeks."

Monteilh said he believed initially that he suffered a stinger when he tackled Wes Neiman during a scoring pass with 6:43 left in the third quarter.

"When I hit him, my shoulder went dead," Monteilh said. "It was painful. I couldn't move it. I thought it was a stinger at first. I hoped it was a stinger, but it wouldn't go away."

McMackin said: "It's a shame. It's disappointing. He's had such a great year. He's sort of the quarterback of our secondary. He makes the calls. He gets everybody organized. He's real valuable. He plays the nickel. He plays the safety."

When nickelback Ryan Mouton missed two games because of a knee injury, Monteilh would move to nickelback in schemes utilizing five defensive backs.

Mouton returned for the NMSU game. He played in every down involving a nickelback after Monteilh was injured.

McMackin said the immediate plan is for Desmond Thomas to replace Monteilh as the left safety. Thomas, who has recovered from a hip flexor, and Monteilh battled for the starting job from spring practice through training camp.

Mouton would be the nickelback.

"That's the way it looks right now," McMackin said. "But I've got a lot of ideas."

Monteilh said he is disappointed at the prospect of missing games.

"As long as we bring home a ring, I'll be glad with that," he said.

The Warriors moved up in the major polls yesterday, including ascending from No. 17 to No. 14 in the BCS standings. If they finish in the top 12 in the BCS standings they would qualify for a BCS berth.

Quarterback Colt Brennan said it is "obviously good" the Warriors are earning better ratings, but "our focus is on winning games. ... We know if we lose, we're out of the polls. We have to face the challenges ahead of us."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.