California vs Hawaii Free Pick, CFB Free Picks, CFB Predictions 11/24/25
- J.A. Cavalier
- Dec 24, 2025
- 3 min read
CALIFORNIA vs. HAWAII (HAW -1.5, 52.5)
CFB ODDS, CFB PREDICTIONS, CFB PREVIEWS
BEARS @ RAINBOW WARRIORS 12/24/25
When Cal plays Hawaii at the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve in Honolulu, quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, a possible 2026 Heisman Trophy contender, hopes to enjoy a homecoming.
A Hawaii squad (8-4) that began the season with a 23-20 home victory over the Golden Bears' rival, Stanford, will face Cal (7-5), which secured a winning season with a 38-35 home upset of then-No. 21 SMU on Nov. 29.
After the Cardinal defeated Cal 31-10 in the yearly Big Game on November 22, head coach Justin Wilcox was fired the next day. Both the Rainbow Warriors and Golden Bears had another common opponent. In November, seven weeks after San Diego State thumped Cal 34-0, Hawaii crushed the Aztecs 38-6.
Tosh Lupoi, a former assistant who is now Oregon's defensive coordinator in the Ducks' continuing College Football Playoff quest for a national championship, will take Wilcox's place as Cal’s new head coach.
Lupoi has been dividing his time between helping the Ducks advance to the playoffs (they defeated James Madison on Saturday in the opening round) and trying to retain important members of the Cal coaching staff and squad while bringing in new coaches.
Nick Rolovich, who led Cal to the victory over SMU following Wilcox's dismissal will be retained as the team's quarterbacks coach in 2026. He is serving as the interim head coach and will have the chance to compete against Timmy Chang, former player and now the head coach of the Rainbow Warriors.
Sagapolutele, a native of Hawaii, finished his first season at Cal as one of the country's best freshman quarterbacks. He is only the second quarterback in FBS history to begin a collegiate career with 12 consecutive 200-yard games. He threw for 3,117 yards and 17 touchdowns this season.
Lupoi said that his primary objective at Cal was to prevent Sagapolutele from becoming the next Fernando Mendoza, who left Cal for Indiana after last season and ended up winning this year's Heisman Trophy.
Lupoi recorded his first victory in Berkeley when Sagapolutele confirmed on December 5 that he would remain at Cal. Lupoi was sure to point out the success Cal has had with quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff. During his recruitment trip, Lupoi flew to Hawaii to meet Sagapolutele's family.
"It truly demonstrates how excellent a coach he is and what he hopes to accomplish for this program. When Sagapolutele was getting ready for the Hawaii Bowl, he told reporters how much I meant to him. "That meant so much to me and I'm grateful."
Micah Alejado, the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year after passing for 2,832 yards and 21 touchdowns, has given Hawaii similar positive news. The fact that the news came after it was announced that Jackson Harris, the program's top receiver, had left to use the transfer portal made it all the more soothing.
In addition to being a clash between two freshmen left-handers, Sagapolutele and Alejado are also childhood buddies.
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KENDRICK RAPHAEL UNDER 77.5 RUSHING YARDS
Neither of these teams run the ball all that well. Cal averages just 77.2 rushing yards per game. That would be dead last in the FBS! They also rank last in yards per carry (2.59). Raphael somehow managed to rush for 111 against SMU, which has a top-20 run defense, in Cal’s last game. Raphael averages around 71 yards per game and Hawaii’s run defense is solid, ranking 43rd nationally. This prop opened at 80.5 yards and could drop even lower. Cal is a pass-first offense. The Bears only run the ball 41 percent (130th) of the time.
