2025 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Prediction: Cal vs Hawaii

There are no shortage of storylines, starting with this being Hawaii's first bowl appearance since 2020 and the Todd Graham era. Before Graham's ill-fated two seasons, the head coach was ...

Nick Rolovich, the Hawaii quarterbacking legend - going against fellow Rainbow Warrior all-timer Timmy Chang in this - is the Cal interim head coach after Justin Wilcox got fired. Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi will be the head man after the Duck season is over.

If that wasn't enough, Hawaii native and rising superstar quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is swearing he's not leaving Cal - even though the last Bear quarterback to leave Berkeley to go to Indiana did okay for himself this season. 

Just enjoy this, including the dream scenery, on Christmas Eve. It'll be more fun than anything else you could be doing.

How To Watch Cal vs Hawaii

Date: Wednesday, December 24
Game Time: 8:00 pm ET
TV: ESPN
Location: Clarence TC Ching Athletics Complex, Honolulu, HI

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Why Cal Will Win

You think Rolovich is going to play it safe? This is his showcase moment to remind the world that when you get him as your head coach, you get the bajillion points and high-octane offenses that come with.

The Bears couldn't get to 300 yards in the loss to Stanford - and Wilcox was launched soon after. Rolovich stepped in, and BOOM. JKS completed just about everything in the 38-35 win over SMU. The offense had its best day of the year against an FBS team, and that's not going to stop.

The nation's worst ground game actually moved a little bit against the Mustangs. Pound on Hawaii for a long enough time, and things start to open up.

The other big key to that SMU win was how Sagapolutele opened it up a bit more. By a mile, it was the most effective downfield passing day by the Cal offense all season. 

Hawaii is 1-4 this season when allowing more than 7.5 yards per attempt. But ...

Why Hawaii Will Win

This is a much, much different Hawaii team in Clarence TC Ching.

The Rainbow Warriors struggled and sputtered too much on the road. When teams made that long trip over, all of a sudden, Hawaii had a defense.

The great San Diego State team never got over its jet lag, and it was over within a few drives. Stanford melted down, Wyoming didn't do anything, and Utah State couldn't stop a thing.

Yeah, Cal looked and played great against SMU, but the Bear defense got ripped apart. The Mustangs ran like they had 1982 Eric Dickerson and Craig James in the backfield. Hawaii doesn't run much, but it's effective at home when it does, and ...

Cal vs Hawaii Prediction, Betting Lines

Yeah, everyone will be all over Sagapolutele as the next big superstar, but Hawaii has a blast of a baller in freshman Micah Alejado, who'll spend all day giving the Bear defense fits.

Both teams will trade big punches all game long. Both quarterbacks will be great, both defenses will be non-existent at times, all the way around, this will be a fantastic game, with Hawaii's great kicker Kansei Matsuzawa - who was totally robbed of the Lou Groza - hitting a few late bombs to help pull this off.

Hawaii 38, Cal 37 
Line: Cal -1.5, o/u: 54.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
Must See Rating: 4.5
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Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.