Hawai'i head football coach June Jones has an answer to the weeklong question: Will quarterback Colt Brennan play against Charleston Southern tonight at Aloha Stadium?

"I would expect him to start," Jones said after yesterday's 90-minute jog-through practice.

Brennan is recovering from a sprained right ankle suffered Sept. 14.

Asked why a Heisman Trophy candidate would risk playing in a non-conference game against a Division I-AA opponent, Jones said: "We're into winning games, and he gives us the best chance to do that."

Brennan wore a shin-high medical boot during warmups. Later, he changed into soft running shoes to throw passes. He participated in a few of the goal-line drills. Backup quarterback Tyler Graunke took most of the snaps.

"He's OK," Jones said of Brennan. "He's going to be all right by game day."

But UH's leading receiver, left wideout Jason Rivers, might not be ready to play. Rivers, who is suffering from tightness in his lower back, missed his fifth consecutive practice.

"We'll see how he is before the game," Jones said.

Malcolm Lane, who already has replaced Rivers as a kick returner, would be next in line at left wideout.

The Warriors enter as overwhelming favorites against Charleston Southern, a private Christian school in South Carolina.

CSU's enrollment is 3,135; UH-Manoa had 20,006 students last academic year.

The Buccaneers do not offer the I-AA maximum 63 scholarships. The Warriors, who are at the 85-scholarship limit for I-A teams, have a roster of 115 players.

The 4,750-mile distance is the farthest the Buccaneers have traveled for a game — by nearly 4,000 miles. They traveled 771 miles to play Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y., in 1995.

"It's still kind of like a dream, basically," CSU quarterback Eli Byrd said.

This is CSU's fourth game against a I-A opponent in school history. But UAB and South Florida were on I-A probationary status when they played CSU.

"We understand it's going to be a faster pace," Byrd said. "It's a high level of play. But we're a college team, and anybody can win at any given moment. We're trying to prepare to win."

The Warriors, meanwhile, have vowed not to overlook the Buccaneers. Having hosted the man who inspired the conquering-all-odds movie, "Rudy," the Warriors are aware of what can happen on any given Saturday.

"Any team can beat any team," center John Estes said. "Stuff happens. We have injuries. We're down a couple of people. We have to worry about ourselves and play our technique. The only way we're going to lose is if we beat ourselves. We can't shoot ourselves in the foot."

The Warriors have worked on a menu of options. The Buccaneers have a chameleon-like defense that can operate out of four- or three-man fronts.

This is the Warriors' second I-AA opponent. They blasted Northern Colorado, 63-6, in the opener.

"They're more athletic than Northern Colorado," safety Jacob Patek said. "We can't put anything past them. If you have athletes, athletes can do anything. It's going to come down to playing the game the way you were coached and playing to the best of your ability, then letting everything else take care of itself."

With Brennan not in the best of health, the Warriors' defense is ready to take control. In a pregame talk last week in Las Vegas, former UH defensive lineman Tony Tuioti relayed how a national sportscaster dismissed the Warriors' defense.

"That fired us up," right-side linebacker Adam Leonard said.

Defensive right tackle Michael Lafaele added: "We took it personally when we went out on the field."

Defensive coordinator Greg McMackin, who returned to UH in April after eight years with Texas Tech and the San Francisco 49ers, said the defense is taking on "a personality."

"It's like we can't wait to go in on defense," left-side linebacker Brad Kalilimoku said. "That's our character. We want the offense to do its job so we can go back out there and hit and make plays."

That enthusiasm has spread.

"We told our kids to go out and do what we do," offensive line coach Dennis McKnight said. "No matter if it's USC or whoever, the theme of the fight song is 'let's take care of business.' "

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

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.