The Hawai'i football team is prepared to give the Idaho fans the silent treatment.

In anticipation of a boisterous crowd Saturday in the 16,000-seat Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho, the Warriors have been practicing hand motions and silent counts to initiate offensive plays.

"Even if they have 10,000 people in there, the noise echoes and it can be hard to hear," said head coach June Jones, recalling the Warriors' 24-0 victory in Moscow in 2005.

The Warriors resorted to silent counts on third-down plays in a road game against Louisiana Tech three weeks ago.

"I know we can handle it," quarterback Colt Brennan said. "If it gets loud, we can make those adjustments. It's part of the game. You have to do it."

Jones will signal in a play as well as the snap count. Taking a cue from Brennan, the offensive linemen will silently count to the designated number.

"It's all about the timing," center John Estes said. "I snap it when it's a certain time. It's a certain rhythm we use."

In practices earlier in the season, Estes said, "Sometimes I'd snap it faster than I should. But we worked on it, and our timing is better."

Left guard Hercules Satele said: "It's a matter of trust. You have to trust the center will snap the ball on time. This is a precaution in case in gets loud. But we're ready."

But as the Warriors learned last year against Fresno State, the best way to counter a loud crowd is by building a sizeable lead.

'TWEAKED' ANKLE OK

Brennan said he "tweaked" his sore right ankle near the end of yesterday's practice. But he said the condition is not "serious," and that he will resume practicing today.

"No doubt, I'm starting" against Idaho, Brennan said.

Brennan, who suffered a sprained ankle during the Sept. 14 practice in Las Vegas, did not play in last Saturday's game against Charleston Southern.

He said his right ankle is sore after practices, "which isn't anything serious or out of the ordinary."

He added: "There's always going to be pain in football. You have to get used to it. But hopefully I'll keep resting it and doing everything right (in treatment sessions) and by Saturday it'll be close to 100 percent as it needs to be."

Brennan also said that sometimes the preventive methods are worse than the condition. His right ankle is heavily wrapped during practices. Afterward, he wears an ankle brace or medical boot.

"I mean, to be honest, you have to understand that all of the protective stuff I put on — all of the tape — can irritate it more than the actual ankle itself," Brennan said. "You have to have to that on there for protection. Sometimes when you see me out there irritated, it's more so because of the tape job or how the ankle brace is sitting on me than actually how my ankle legitimately feels. If I were to run around here without an ankle brace, you wouldn't think I was hurt at all."

But he said he needs the tape or brace because without it "the probability of turning (the ankle) is really high."

RETURNING A 'GIFT'

Brennan has received several get-well wishes. His favorite was the "gift" from teammate Ryan Mouton.

The night before every home game, the Warriors stay in a Waikiki hotel. After one of the meetings, Mouton promised he would return a kickoff for a touchdown against Charleston Southern.

"I said, 'I probably won't be able to play today,' and he told me, 'I got you,' " Brennan recalled.

Mouton said: "I had to do it. I'm a man of my word."

Mouton had two kickoff returns in the first half, but none for a touchdown.

"The way our defense was playing, I knew he wouldn't get many chances," Brennan said. "I told him right before halftime, 'You've got the second-half kickoff to go.' He said, 'I've got that.'

"When we came out at halftime, I walked out late," Brennan added. "I didn't get a chance to talk to him before he went out on the field."

Mouton took the kickoff and ran 90 yards for a touchdown.

"He ran over to me and said, 'That was for you,' " Brennan said. "That was cool."

WHO'S GOT NEXT?

Mouton and Malcolm Lane now have a friendly competition. Each has returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

"We're discussing who's going to bring the next one," Mouton said.

Lane said: "I was joking with him. I said we have to break this tie. It's a great battle. Now the other team has to decide who to kick it to. Mouton is a good guy. I was just as happy for Mouton running his back as I was when I ran mine back. I was excited to see him get one."

RIVERS STILL AILING

Left wideout Jason Rivers did not practice yesterday because of lower-back tightness.

Lane, C.J. Hawthorne and Greg Salas took all of the reps at the two wideout positions during team drills.

The Warriors remain hopeful Rivers will be available to play. He is on the 64-player travel roster.

The Warriors practice this morning, then depart on a charter flight this afternoon.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Safeties Erik Robinson and Spencer Smith will travel with the team for the first time this season.

Robinson recently was cleared to participate after UH received his transcripts from Navarro College in Texas.

Smith made all of the the road trips last season despite redshirting as a freshman. He is a reserve on special teams.

"I traveled all of the time last year, and took it for granted," Smith said. "Not traveling last trip made me work hard. I wanted to do my best. I wanted to impress the coaches. It feels good to travel with the team."

Visit Tsai's blog at www.HawaiiWarriorBeat.com.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.