SAN JOSE, Calif. >> A painful foot injury kept Dayton Furuta out of practice much of the week, but what really hurt the running back was sitting on the bench for nearly three full quarters Saturday night.

“It was hard not to be out there,” Furuta said. “I told my teammates and I told the coaches, ‘Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I’m ready to go. My adrenaline is going. Let’s get after it.’ ”

Unshackled from the bench, that’s pretty much what he did.

With the Hawaii faithful in a CEFCU Stadium gathering of 16,363 chanting “Fu-root…Fu-root…Fu-root…” Furuta scored his first career UH touchdown in the first overtime and helped set up other opportunities, including Ryan Meskell’s game-winning 35-yard field goal in a record fifth overtime of the Rainbow Warriors’ 44-41 victory over San Jose State.

“For him to come off the bench like that cold — obviously he’s in pain — just brought it (to) the next level,” quarterback Cole McDonald said. “I don’t think we would have won without him.”

Coach Nick Rolovich deadpanned, “He wasn’t hurt,” adding, “He’s a warrior. He just wants to play and loves being part of this team.”

The 5-foot, 11-inch Furuta, who had seen scant action since the opener in August until helping spark last week’s victory over Duquesne, was injured in the victory over the Dukes, in which he carried a career-high 12 times for 114 yards.

But he made the trip and suited up with the understanding, “If they needed me, I’d be ready.” Furuta said, “I told the coach, ‘If the boys have it (the game), that’s fine. But if you need me, when it comes down to it, I’ll put my team first.”

As for the pain, Furuta, who was sitting down, said, “Well, nothing was broken.”

Furuta, who entered the game for the first time with 2 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter, accumulated 12 carries and 39 of the toughest of UH’s 475 yards.

It was not just the hard-won real estate Furuta secured, it was his blocking, and the space that even the threat of his runs opened up. And, of course, just seeing him charge into the game that lifted the ’Bows.

“We need somebody like him, especially with the kind of an offense that we run,” offensive coordinator Brian Smith said.

“It is great motivation just to see the way he plays,” linebacker Jahlani Tavai said. “He plays hard, no matter what.”