The Hawai'i football team survived two scares — one to star quarterback Colt Brennan, the other from Fresno State — in a milestone 37-30 victory last night at Aloha Stadium.

The Warriors raced to a 31-7 lead early in the second quarter, then withstood a fourth-quarter surge from the Bulldogs to open a season 9-0 for the first time against an all-college schedule.

In improving to 6-0 in the Western Athletic Conference, the Warriors, no matter how they do in Friday's nationally televised game at Nevada, will meet Boise State Nov. 23 for the league title.

The Bulldogs, who fell to 6-4, and 5-2, were eliminated from title contention.

But the victory was overshadowed by the injury to Brennan. With UH leading 37-23, Brennan was floored by linebacker Marcus Riley at the end of a scramble.

Brennan was down on the FieldTurf for several minutes while teammates kneeled in prayer.

"Colt is a big part of this team," UH linebacker Solomon Elimimian said. "It's not just on offense. Without Colt, we wouldn't be where we are today. Colt is one of our leaders. We all love Colt."

Two trainers escorted the woozy Brennan to the training room with 10:43 to play.

After the game, UH announced that Brennan had suffered a "mild" concussion and that his status was "day to day."

Brennan issued this statement: "I'm doing fine. I'd like to thank everyone for the support they gave me out there."

He also said he is hopeful of playing against Nevada.

Fresno State coach Pat Hill visited Brennan after the game. "I just wanted to see how he was," Hill said. "He's a heck of a player. ... I wished him luck. That was a heck of a hit he took."

In the UH locker room after the game, the mood was somber. Left tackle Keith AhSoon, with moistened eyes, was slumped on the bench in front of his locker.

"It was my fault," AhSoon said. "If I didn't miss that block ... I blame it all on me."

But left guard Hercules Satele put his arm around AhSoon's shoulder.

"It's not your fault," Satele said. "It's football. That's how it is. Things happen. Injuries happen. You have to get over it. We got the win. That's all we were worried about."

It appeared the Warriors would have few worries in building leads of 21-0, 31-7 and, at the end of the third quarter, 37-16.

On the third play of the game, Brennan connected with left wideout Jason Rivers on a post route. Rivers caught it at the 21, then sprinted the rest of the way to complete the 67-yard scoring play.

The play?

"Everybody run deep," Rivers said. "That was the call."

Brennan also threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Davone Bess. It was Brennan's 121st touchdown pass in his 34-game UH career, tying former Brigham Young quarterback Ty Detmer's NCAA record.

Brennan completed 28 of 39 passes for 396 yards. All but 87 of his passing yards came in the first half. He also scored on a 3-yard run.

The Warriors also received a boost from Leon Wright-Jackson and Daniel Libre. Both were part of the committee helping to replace running back Kealoha Pilares, who did not play because of a sprained right knee.

Wright-Jackson rushed for 65 yards, with 33 coming on a draw play for a touchdown.

"It was a new idea coach (June Jones) had," Wright-Jackson said of the draw. "There was a big giant hole where Herc (Satele) was. I followed where Herc led."

And that should have been that, especially with the Warriors defense slowing the Bulldogs' grind-it-out running attack in the first half. The Bulldogs were without their leading rusher, freshman Ryan Mathews, who had a high-ankle sprain. Also their passing options were limited because their best receiver, tight end Bear Pascoe, was not at full strength.

But these were the Bulldogs, the Warriors' top rivals the past decade, and Jones said: "We knew they weren't going to quit."

Indeed, the Bulldogs' play-action passes were difficult sells without a running game. So the Bulldogs reverted to what they do best, sending Clifton Smith (105 rushing yards) and Lonyae Miller (78 yards) on dives, sweeps and counters.

"That's how we play," quarterback Tom Brandstater said. "That's what we believe in."

The Bulldogs had closed to 37-23 on Brandstater's 31-yard scoring pass to Marlon Moore. The drive was fueled when UH cornerback Gerard Lewis was called for a pass interference, although the JumboTron replay showed otherwise.

"That was a horrible call," Lewis said. "I think I got robbed."

Later, the Bulldogs drew to 37-30 when Brandstater and Moore collaborated again, this time on a 20-yard post play with 1:31 to go.

"We always thought we could come back," Smith said. "You always have to believe in miracles."

The Bulldogs nearly produced one on the ensuing onside kick. The ball chopped into the air, where Rivers tried to grab it.

"I got banged," said Rivers, who was dazed on the play. "I don't know who hit me, but he hit me hard. I saw (the football) in the air, and I tried to go for it, and I got hit."

Teammate Desmond Thomas, who was positioned to the right of Rivers, pounced on the ball.

"I was asking the Lord for strength to let me keep holding onto the ball," Thomas said. "I wasn't going to let it go. I was going to show these fans I had the ball."

With no timeouts remaining, Fresno State watched helplessly as the Warriors allowed time to expire.

"I don't like the outcome," Hill said. "We don't go any place to lose. But I thought we grew some tonight."

UH defensive coordinator Greg McMackin appeared to be relieved.

"Win one game a week," he said, smiling. "That's our goal. You have to make it exciting for ESPN. ... It was a chess game of making adjustments. I'm proud of our kids. They fought under some adversity, and came out with a win."

Jones said he expects Brennan to be OK.

"If you play quarterback, you have concussions," Jones said.

As for the 9-0 start, Jones said, "I'm not thinking about it. I'm glad we won, and we get to go to the next one."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.