Hawaii Bowl Preview: Cal vs. Hawaii

The preview for Wednesday’s Hawaii Bowl:

CAL (7-5, 4-4 ACC) vs. HAWAII (8-4, 5-3 Mountain West)

SITE: Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, Honolulu, Hawaii (seating capacity 15,194)

WHEN: Wednesday, 5 p.m. Pacific time (3 p.m. Honolulu time)

TV: ESPN2 -- Chris Cotter (Play-by-Play), Max Browne (analyst), Harry Lyles Jr. (Sideline Reporter)

RADIO: KSFO (810 AM) -- Justin Allegri (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Ben Ross (Sideline Reporter)

BETTING LINE: Cal is favored by 1.5 points by DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM as of Tuesday. Over/Under is 52.5 points at all three sites.

WEATHER FORECAST: Wednesday afternoon in Honolulu will be partly cloudy and breezy with a high of about 80 degrees and an 8% chance of rain. The temperature will drop just a few degrees by the time the game is over and the chance of rain is only 7% Wednesday night.

CAL-HAWAII HISTORY: Cal and Hawaii have met five times alltime, and Cal holds a 3-2 lead in the series.

The last time Cal and Hawaii met was the opener of the 2016 season, and Nick Rolovich was the Hawaii head coach. It was Rolovich’s first game as a college head coach and the game was played in Sydney, Australia. Cal sent Rolovich to defeat in his head coaching debut, beating the Rainbow Warriors 51-31. Rolovich will serve as Cal’s head coach in Wednesday’s Hawaii Bowl.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Cal did not release an injury report for this game, nor did it make any announcement of players who have opted out of the bowl game. Wide receivers Jordan King and starting tight end Mason Mini both missed the final regular-season game against SMU. Running back LJ Johnson Jr. and Brandon High Jr. did not play against SMU either.

HAWAII PLAYER AVAILABILITY: All-conference wide receiver Jackson Harris plans to enter the transfer portal and will not play in the Hawaii Bowl. Linebacker Jamih Otis, the team’s second-leading tackler, suffered a season-ending injury in the Rainbow Warriors’ 11th game and won’t play in the Hawaii Bowl.

CAL STORYLINES:

---Cal will play in a bowl game for the third straight season, but the Bears have not won a bowl game since 2019, when they defeated Illinois in the Redbox Bowl. Cal has won only two bowl games since 2008, going 2-5 in its seven bowl appearances since then.

---Nick Rolovich, who is serving as Cal’s interim head coach for this game, was a quarterback when he played for Hawaii in 2000 and 2001, and was the Rainbow Warriors’ head coach from 2016 through 2019. He and Hawaii head coach Timmy Chang were teammates during Rolovich’s two years at Hawaii and they competed for the starting quarterback job. Rolovich took over as the Rainbow Warriors’ quarterback when Chang suffered a season-ending wrist injury in the third game of the 2001 season. Rolovich threw 34 touchdown passes that season, including eight TD passes in his last game as a collegian, a 72-45 victory over BYU, which was 12-0 and ranked No. 9 at the time. As Hawaii’s head coach, Rolovich took his team to the Hawaii Bowl in three of his four seasons, winning two of the three.

---Cal is coming off a 38-35 upset of SMU, which was No. 21 in the College Football Playoff rankings coming into the game. That November 29 contest was Cal’s first game after the firing of head coach Justin Wilcox and the first game with Nick Rolovich as the interim head coach. The win assured Cal of its first winning season since 2019, and its final 4-4 ACC record represented the first time Cal finished with a conference winning percentage of .500 or better since 2009.

---Cal freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele had a strong performance in the final regular-season game when he went 5-for-5 for 61 yards to lead the game-winning 75-yard touchdown drive in the closing minutes against SMU. In his final six games of the regular season, Sagapolutele threw eight touchdown passes and two interceptions, and he had no interceptions in five of those six games. He announced two weeks ago that he will remain at Cal for the 2026 season. Sagapolutele lives in Ewa Bech, Hawaii, about 20 minutes from the Hawaii Bowl venue.

---Cal wide receiver Jacob De Jesus needs one catch to tie the Cal record for receptions in a season. Dameane Douglas holds the record with the 100 catches he had in 1998. De Jesus has 99, one better than 98 receptions third-place Keenan Allen had in 2011.

---Cal ranks dead last in the country in rushing offense, averaging 76.5 rushing yards per game and 2.57 yards per carry. However, Cal running back Kendrick Raphael has rushed for more than 100 yards in three games this season.

---Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi will take over as Cal’s head coach as soon as Oregon is eliminated from the College Football Playoff. The Ducks play a quarterfinal game against Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.

---If Cal wins the Hawaii Bowl to get its eighth win of the season, it would match the Bears’ 2009, 2015 and 2019 seasons for the most wins in a season since 2008, when the Bears went 9-4 under coach Jeff Tedford.

---Cal cornerback Hezekiah Masses was named to the second-team All-America squad by multiple organizations, including Associated Press. He leads the nation in passes defended with 18 (5 interceptions, 13 pass breakups).

---Cal will honor the culture and traditions of the Hawaiian Islands with a new logo on the helmets the Bears will wear for the game, as seen below. Sagapolutele is one of four Cal players from Hawaii.:

From the Bay to the Islands 🌊

Honoring family, culture, and strength. Inspired by island traditions and Pasefika pride.

#GoBears pic.twitter.com/FuUJkB4WR8
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) December 20, 2025

HAWAII STORYLINES:

---Hawaii is 6-1 this season on its home field, the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, which is the same venue as the Hawaii Bowl. Hawaii defeated Stanford 23-20 at home in its season opener, then crushed San Diego State 38-3 at home on November 8. Cal lost to both Stanford and San Diego State by more than 20 points each. Hawaii’s only home loss was a two-point defeat against Fresno State when Hawaii failed on a two-point try with 10 seconds left.

---Hawaii relies heavily on the passing game in its version of the run-and-shoot offense. The Rainbow Warriors lead the Mountain West Conference and are ninth nationally in passing offense, averaging 289.7 yards per game through the air. Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado leads the Mountain West and is eighth nationally in passing yards per game, at 283.2. Hawaii is last in the conference and 125th in the country in rushing offense, averaging 104 yards per game and 3.57 yards per rushing attempt.

---Hawaii will be participating in the Hawaii Bowl for the 10th time. The Rainbow Warriors also earned a berth in the Hawaii Bowl in 2021 but withdrew because of COVID issues within the program. Hawaii has a 5-4 record in the Hawaii Bowl.

---Hawaii’s eight wins this season are its most since 2019, when the Rainbow Warriors won 10 games. If Hawaii beats Cal for a ninth win it would be only the second time in the past 15 seasons that it would have nine wins or more. The eight wins are the most in a season since Timmy Chang became head coach in 2022.

---Hawaii place-kicker Hawai'i placekicker Kansei Matsuzawa, known as “The Tokyo Toe,” was a consensus first-team All-America selection this season. He was 25-for-26 on field goal attempts this season, missing only his final attempt of the regular season – a 30-yard attempt that went wide right against Wyoming.

---Hawaii coach Timmy Chang was a teammate of Nick Rolovich at Hawaii in 2000 and 2001, and Chang set the NCAA Division I record for career passing yards while at Hawaii. He has since been passed by Case Keenum and Dillon Gabriel.

---Hawaii sophomore wide receiver Jackson Harris was a first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection but he has indicated that he plans to enter the transfer portal and will not play in the Hawaii Bowl. He attended Berkeley High School.

---Hawaii’s strength on defense is its defensive line. Defensive lineman Jackie Johnson III was a first-team all-conference pick and has 7.5 sacks, and defensive lineman De’Jon Benton was a second-team all-Mountain West pick and has 9.5 tackles for loss.

Here is a video of Monday's Hawaii Bowl press conference

---Five questions answered by an Hawaii beat writer about the Rainbow Warriors football team---

CAL PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (17 TD passes, 9 interceptions); LB Cade Uluave (11.5 tackles for loss); WR/PR Jacob De Jesus (ACC-best 99 catches); CB Hezekiah Masses (5 interceptions); RB Kendrick Raphael (13 touchdowns); DT Aidan Keanaaina (underrated interior lineman).

HAWAII PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Micah Alejado (21 TD passes, 9 interceptions); K Kensai Matsuzawa (first-team All-America); WR Pofele Ashlock (62 receptions, second-team all-conference); LB Jalen Smith (56 tackles): DL Jackie Johnson III (7.5 sacks); DL De’Jon Benton (9.5 tackles for loss).

CAL STATISTICS: Click here

CAL GAME NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click here

HAWAII STATISTICS: Click here

HAWAII GAME NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click here

JAKE'S PICK: Cal 35, Hawaii 31

JEFF'S PICK: Cal 31, Hawaii 27

TICKETS: Click here or here. StubHub: Click here. SeatGeek: Click here

Recent articles:

Cal women give No. 19 USC a scare

Cal men win ninth straight basketball game

Hawaii beat writer answers five questions about Cal's Hawaii Bowl opponent

Cal off to its best start in 66 years