HAWAII vs. CALIFORNIA
RWP: Rainbow Warrior Perspective
Location: Honolulu, Oahu (Clarence T.C. Ching Complex)
Date/Time: Saturday, December 24th at 3:00 p.m. (Hawaii Time)
Television: ESPN
Streaming: Obviously, you’re going to
need a TV log-in of some kind.
Radio: ESPN Honolulu
Head-to-Head: According to the Hawaii Athletics website, Hawaii won the first contest between the Rainbows and Golden Bears back in the “New Year’s Classic” in 1935. Cal leads the series 3-2, swapping road victories in a home-and-home series back in the 90s. The most recent contest was, of course, in Sydney, Australia in 2016. That was Nick Rolovich’s debut game as head coach of Hawaii. Nine years later, Rolovich is the interim head coach for Cal in this Hawaii Bowl. Funny how things play out.
Three things to look for:
1. It’s the season of holiday buzzkills
Times have changed in college football. The bowl season used to be a coveted reward for football teams, and for some individuals it still is. However, for many players and coaches these days, early December is a time for weighing their personal options, not prepping for a Hawaii Bowl.
Hawaii capped off an 8-4 campaign with a win against Wyoming in late November, and since then has had to wait a month for this game. The transfer portal is a forever-looming monster for Group of 5 programs, and Hawaii is no different. Wide receiver Jackson Harris, the Stanford transfer, posted 932 receiving yards on only 49 catches for 12 touchdowns. Astonishing numbers. He transferred to Hawaii looking for a chance to show off his skills and accomplished that…and then promptly re-entered the transfer portal. Hawaii will be without its star receiver for this game and obviously next season.
As long as this lawless state of college athletics continues, one without binding contracts, this is just the nature of things. Now, as far as we can tell, this is all the portal carnage Hawaii experienced pre-Hawaii Bowl. That is good, because surely quarterback Micah Alejado had options. Alejado has reaffirmed his commitment to Hawaii, a massive boost for the Hawaii program.
All the same, being a fan of a Group of 5 school is tough nowadays.
2. A potential clash of star quarterbacks
Let’s get this out of the way: I do not write these previews to provide gambling advice, at all. If you’re looking for concrete info, be prepared to check right up until kickoff. Prying information about who is and isn’t available for these bowls is difficult, coaches may or may not be telling the truth.
As far as I know, both Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado and Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele are obviously playing in this game, along with the other key figures on both sidelines. If that holds true, that will be a victory for football fans, because this should be a fun shootout.
Alejado threw for 2,382 passing yards for 21 touchdowns and 9 interceptions this fall, while completing 65.9% of his passes. The freshman player of the year in the Mountain West might be tiny, but he can really spin it. Wide receivers Pofele Ashlock and hopefully a healthy Nick Cenacle will need to pick up the slack for the exiting Harris.
Sagpolutele, the Campbell grad from Hawaii and brother of former Hawaii quarterback John-Keawe Sagapolutele, is a burgeoning superstar. He threw for 3,117 passing yards this season. Expected to be a coveted portal option, Sagapolutele has re-confirmed his commitment to Cal. This should be a really exciting battle between gunslingers.
Remember Jacob De Jesus? The receiver from UNLV? He transferred to Cal and led them in catches and receiving yards. Expect to hear his name a lot on this game.
3. Plenty of familiarity
Hawaii head coach Timmy Chang and Cal’s interim coach Nick Rolovich shared the same quarterback room in their playing days, competing for the same starting spot. Chang was the star recruit that stayed home, Rolovich the junior college transfer. Chang replaced a struggling Rolovich in 2000, but Rolo replaced an injured Chang in 2001. Nearly a quarter century later, they’ll now compete as coaches.
Rolovich, of course, also coached Hawaii from 2016-2019, arguably the best stretch of Hawaii’s Mountain West era. Chang took over in 2022 after Todd Graham undid all of the progress Rolovich made. Despite the constant competition, there is a mutual respect between Chang and Rolovich.
That’s not the only familiarity between the programs, Cal has a ton of players from Hawaii. It’s fate that these two teams match up in the bowl season. Months ago, some Hawaii fans were annoyed to see advertisements featuring Sagapolutele as the Honolulu airport. Sure, he is from Hawaii, but isn’t Oahu supposed to be UH’s territory? How many Emeka Egbuka Ohio State advertisements were at the Seattle airport during his college days? I’m guessing none.
It’s a never-ending battle for Hawaii football, trying to stake a claim to its own territory. Rarely do top high school recruits stay home in the islands. I promise you, the Hawaii coaching staff wants this one badly.
Prediction:
Hawaii opened as a 3.5-point underdog on FanDuel, and it’s moved down to +2.5 since then. The oddsmakers expect a competitive contest. Predicting bowl games is a difficult task, there are so many variables, especially for this particular bowl game. Who really wants to play this game? Who enjoyed Waikiki a little too much? Both teams haven’t played in a month, how rusty are they? Will home field advantage be a factor? The distractions are plenty for this contest.
I expect both teams to struggle on offense in the first half, having not played in weeks, but find their form in the second half. Kicker Kansei Matsuzawa didn’t win the Lou Groza Award, but he does make the winning kick in this game. Give me Warriors 30, Golden Bears 27 OT
