The California Golden Bears and Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors will do battle in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Tuesday night. Cal is aiming to finish its season strong in spite of a coaching change and Hawaii is hoping to take advantage of what is a true home game for them on Christmas Eve. Before kickoff from the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, you will find my Cal vs Hawaii prediction right here.
Our Cal vs Hawaii Pick
| Pick: | |
| Confidence: | 4/5 |
Game Snapshot
- Matchup: California Golden Bears vs Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
- Date & Time: Wednesday, December 24, 2025, 8:00 PM ET
- Venue: Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, Honolulu, Hawaii
- Broadcast: ESPN
Key Storylines
This is an interesting spot for Cal, as they enter the Hawaii Bowl after firing head coach Justin Wilcox after the regular season. The Golden Bears have turned to former Washington State head coach Nick Rolovich in an interim capacity. Rolovich will not only try to win this game to satisfy his competitive nature, but this could also serve as an audition for him for a larger role at Cal or elsewhere.
On the other side, Hawaii has not reached a bowl game since 2020. And not only are they in a bowl game for the first time since then, but they are also playing a true home game at their usual home stadium. It will be interesting to see what the level of support is like in the crowd with that in mind, as the Golden Bears will have to overcome their opponent and the crowd.
This Hawaii Bowl matchup features a couple of interesting personal stories as well. Cal interim coach Nick Rolovich and Hawaii head coach Timmy Chang were college teammates and will face each other in this contest. Additionally, Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele returns home to compete in front of a supportive local crowd in Hawaii.
Quarterback Play
Both starting quarterbacks are left-handed and have put up solid numbers this season. Cal’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has thrown for over 3,100 yards with 20 total touchdowns. On the other side, Micah Alejado has completed nearly 66% of his passes for 2,832 yards and 21 passing touchdowns to fuel the Hawaii offense. The duel between these two young signal-callers will likely dictate the outcome of this contest.
Betting Trends & H2H
- Cal is 3-2 all-time against Hawaii.
- This is the first meeting between these teams since 2016.
- Hawaii went 8-3 against the spread during the regular season.
- Cal is 5-7 against the spread going into bowl season.
- The Golden Bears went 5-6-1 on over/unders this season.
- The under has hit in 7 of Hawaii’s 12 games.
Cal vs Hawaii Model Projection
Final Thoughts
