The swelling subsided substantially in Colt Brennan's sprained right ankle, and the senior quarterback vowed to play in Friday's nationally televised road game against San Jose State.

"I'll be going all out this week," Brennan said, noting the Warriors have a bye the weekend after Friday's game. "I've got nothing to lose."

During the second quarter of Saturday's 52-37 victory over Utah State, Brennan aggravated a sprained right ankle that was originally injured Sept. 14.

"My ankle got caught when I got hit (while throwing a pass)," Brennan said. "My ankle was planted. I strained that exact same part of the sprained ankle."

At halftime, a tape wrapping and ankle brace were applied to the ankle. But during the first series of the second half, the right ankle began to swell.

"I had this throbbing pain because my ankle was swelling up, but the brace and the tape were compressing it," Brennan said. "It made it extremely uncomfortable and achy. It didn't leave any room for my ankle to breathe. When I got it retaped, it was sore, but the throbbing pain went away."

By then, Tyler Graunke was in the midst of completing nine consecutive passes and leading the Warriors on four scoring drives.

After the game, Brennan's right ankle ballooned.

"Even the trainer thought it would be really bad in the morning," Brennan said.

But when he woke up yesterday morning, the swelling on the ankle had subsided.

"When I went to get treatment, they were like, 'I can't believe how much the swelling went down. What did you do?' " Brennan recalled. "I don't know, but for some reason, the swelling went down."

Because there is one fewer day to prepare for Friday's game, the Warriors will practice for one hour today. They usually only have conditioning drills on Mondays.

Brennan said he will practice to keep sharp.

Against Utah State "I felt like I had my rhythm and momentum back as far as throwing the ball," Brennan said. "I felt I was out in front most of the time, and I was throwing good balls. I don't want to lose that rhythm. I'll practice every day."

Brennan said he noticed he is rebounding quicker after several incidents in which his right ankle was aggravated.

"I've had some bad luck in practice," Brennan said. "I've had cases where I've gotten leg-whipped. I got stepped on really badly. Another time a running back got blown back into my ankle. I mean, it swells up. The good news is that even though it got hit and it was really bad because it was on the same spot, it's been easier to bounce back from."

LAFAELE LIKELY TO PLAY

Head coach June Jones said defensive tackle Michael Lafaele probably will play against San Jose State.

But Jones said cornerback Ryan Mouton is expected to miss his second consecutive game because of a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Lafaele was held out against Utah State because of a strained right hamstring that causes pain in the back of his right knee. Lafaele also has a strained left calf and a fracture in his right hand.

Defensive left tackle Fale Laeli started at right tackle in place of Lafaele. Keala Watson played in Laeli's left-tackle position. Siave Seti was the backup at right tackle and Josh Leonard was Watson's understudy.

Defensive coordinator Greg McMackin was somewhat disappointed the Warriors did not meet goals for third-down efficiency and forced turnovers. But he was pleased the Warriors held the Aggies to under 3 yards per carry (2.8).

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051. Visit Tsai's blog at HawaiiWarriorBeat.com.

RUSHING RECORD FALLS

Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. — After becoming the most prolific rusher in college football history, Danny Woodhead slept in, picked up breakfast at the Subway in Chadron and plopped on his couch to watch an NFL game.

"I honestly don't feel like anything's different," he said. "It's like any other Sunday."

About 24 hours earlier, the Chadron State tailback broke R.J. Bowers' all-division career record by running for 208 yards in a 21-0 victory over Western New Mexico. Woodhead has a career total of 7,441 yards and is one pace to surpass 8,000.

Bowers, who set his record of 7,353 yards from 1997-2000 at Division III Grove City (Pa.) College, and Woodhead are the only players to top 7,000 yards rushing in college football.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.