Hawai'i head football coach Greg McMackin said quarterback Greg Alexander's injury is to his medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

If that initial diagnosis is accurate and complete, it would not be "as bad" as originally feared, McMackin said.

If the injury is to the anterior cruciate ligament, Alexander would be lost for the rest of the regular season.

An MCL injury most likely would require, at the minimum, a recovery of a few weeks. What's more, an MCL injury can mend without surgery.

By definition, a sprain involves some degree of tearing. The extent of the injury will not be known until after Alexander undergoes an MRI. He said he has an appointment on Sunday.

Alexander suffered the injury when his left cleat was stuck on the FieldTurf while he was tackled late in the third quarter of Wednesday night's 27-6 road loss to Louisiana Tech. Bryant Moniz replaced Alexander, and played the rest of the game.

Moniz, a third-year sophomore from Leilehua High, is the leading choice to start in the Oct. 10 game against Fresno State. He has impressed coaches since joining the Warriors in January. Moniz played for Fresno City College in 2007. He attended a local community college — but did not play — in the 2008 fall semester.

Shane Austin is considered the immediate backup.

Brent Rausch was the No. 2 quarterback until suffering a fractured right pinkie in his throwing hand. He will not be able to practice for a couple of more weeks.

Freshman quarterbacks David Graves, Cayman Shutter and Corey Nielsen are redshirting this season.

One possibility is using running back Inoke Funaki as an emergency quarterback. Funaki was the starting quarterback when the Warriors defeated Fresno State last year.

But Funaki said he has not been approached. He said he has not taken a snap at quarterback since the 2008 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.

McMackin said the players will be given off today, tomorrow and Sunday. He told them not to think about football until Monday, when they resume practicing.

"They've been tired," McMackin said.

The Warriors returned yesterday afternoon. They have spent 17 of the past 23 days on the road.

McMackin said the coaches will study video of the Louisiana Tech game and continue to craft a game plan against Fresno State. But yesterday, he was not ready to decide on the quarterback situation.

"Believe me, I'm not thinking about any of that," McMackin said. "I have the 48-hour rule — 48 hours to get over it — and I'm not over it."

McMackin said he was disappointed in his team's lack of productivity in the red zone — they squandered a first-and-goal at the 2 before settling for a field goal — and the defense's numerous missed tackles.

"We didn't make the plays, and they did," McMackin said. "They deserved to win, and they did. I guess there are good days and bad days. That was a bad day."

Visit Tsai's blog at http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com.