Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Football full 2025 schedule released

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Set the dates and book your tickets Hawai’i football fans.

The Rainbow Warriors’ full 2025 season schedule was released Thursday morning when the Mountain West Conference unveiled its complete league slate for the upcoming year.

Hawai’i will have four consecutive non-conference games starting with Stanford at home on Aug. 23 before hosting Fresno State on Sept. 20 to open up conference play.

Times for each matchup is still to be determined depending on TV and streaming broadcasts.

Full schedule followed by brief commentary listed below:

Week 0 — Aug. 23 vs. Stanford
Week 1 — Aug. 30 at Arizona
Week 2 — Sept. 6 vs. Sam Houston
Week 3 — Sept. 13 vs. Portland State
Week 4 — Sept. 20 vs. Fresno State
Week 5 — Sept. 27 at Air Force
Week 6 — Bye
Week 7 — Oct. 11 vs. Utah State
Week 8 — Oct. 18 at Colorado State
Week 9 — Bye
Week 10 — Nov. 1 at San Jose State
Week 11 —Nov. 8 vs. San Diego State
Week 12 — Bye
Week 13 —Nov. 21 at UNLV
Week 14 — Nov. 29 vs. Wyoming

Week 0 — Aug. 23 vs. Stanford

Hawai’i is just one of two Mountain West teams that will play in Week 0, with the other being Fresno State. The two teams have met just twice in school history, with the most recent one being two years ago and the debut matchup being in 1972. Both meetings have been at the Rainbow Warriors’ home field with Stanford averaging 38 points per game in the series.

Week 1 — Aug. 30 at Arizona

This will be the Rainbow Warriors’ second trip to Tuscon, Ariz. in program history with the first coming in a 47-28 loss in 2016. Hawai’i did win its most recent meeting with Arizona however in a 45-38 shootout win at home in 2019. The Wildcats will not have the services of standout receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who is projected to be a first round pick in the NFL draft. Hawai’i is 1-3 all-time against Arizona.

Week 2 — Sept. 6 vs. Sam Houston

The Rainbow Warriors’ will look to redeem themselves from last season’s 31-13 road-opener loss to the Bearkats when they allowed 422 yards of offense (257 on the ground) and committed 14 penalties, their most in 20 years. This will be Sam Houston’s first trip to the islands ever as it is the start of a three-game home stand for Hawai’i. Special teams coordinator Thomas Sheffield is an alumnus of Sam Houston.

Week 3 — Sept. 13 vs. Portland State

Hawai’i will welcome in former quarterback John-Keawe Sagapolutele as the Vikings make their fifth appearance in the 50th state, their first since 2021. The Rainbow Warriors are 5-1 all-time against Portland State, who plays in the FCS. The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 49-35 Hawai’i win at the T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in 2021.

Week 4 — Sept. 20 vs. Fresno State

The end of the three-game home stand is capped with the Mountain West season opener against Fresno State. It will be the fifth straight game without any week off for both teams. Fortunately for Hawai’i, it will be the Bulldogs’ third road game in that span. The Rainbow Warriors rallied to beat Fresno State on the road last year, 21-20, and won its most recent meeting at home in a 27-24 upset win in 2021. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 30-25-1, in what is known as the “Battle for the Golden Screwdriver.”

Week 5 — Sept. 27 at Air Force

Hawai’i will be playing its sixth consecutive game without any bye weeks when it travels to Colorado Springs for the first time since 2016 when Dru Brown tossed a 25-yard scoring pass to Marcus Kemp to end the Falcons’ 15-game winning streak in a 34-27 double-overtime win. The Rainbow Warriors are 8-14-1 all-time in the series, but won its previous meeting at home in 2023, 27-13, to lay claim to the Kuter Trophy. Potential trap game for the Falcons with Boise State the week before and road games at rival Navy and at UNLV in the following weeks.

Week 6 — Bye week

Week 7 — Oct. 11 vs. Utah State

The Rainbow Warriors suffered their worst defeat of the season last year in a 55-10 road loss to the Aggies so they should be fired up out of the bye week. Utah State has won the previous eight meetings against Hawai’i and is 13-6 all-time in the matchup. The two teams’ first-ever meeting was on Dec. 17, 1927 in a 21-20 home win for Hawai’i. Outside of that ancient game, the Rainbow Warriors have needed to score 45 points or more to secure the win.

Week 8 — Oct. 18 at Colorado State

Hawai’i is 11-16 against Colorado State all-time and went a span of 22 years without a win over the Rams, but recent history has favored the Rainbow Warriors with three wins in the last four meetings. The most recent matchup in Fort Collins, Colo. came in Timmy Chang’s inaugural season as head coach in 2022 when Hawai’i held a 13-3 halftime lead before giving up the lead late in a 17-13 loss. Chang also coached under head coach Jay Norvell during their time at Nevada.

Week 9 — Bye week

Week 10 — Nov. 1 at San Jose State

The Rainbow Warriors are fortunate to get a road conference game in “warm-weather” California during November with a trip to face the Spartans, who has many Hawai’i-ties in head coach Ken Niumatalolo and offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann. Hawai’i is 21-20-1 all-time against San Jose State in the “Dick Tomey Legacy Game,” but have dropped the last four meetings. The last road win against the Spartans came in a five-overtime 44-41 win in 2018 when John Ursua caught 13 passes for 148 yards and three scores.

Week 11 — Nov. 8 vs. San Diego State

The Aztecs have been a team that the Rainbow Warriors have not been able to get over the hump against during the Chang-era, with three losses coming by a margin of three, seven and two points. Former defensive lineman Malachi Finau is also now a member of San Diego State, who tallied five second-half sacks in last year’s Mountain West opener. The last home win against the Aztecs was in a low-scoring 14-11 game in 2019.

Week 12 — Bye week

Week 13 — Nov. 21 at UNLV

The last trip to play the Rebels at Allegiant Stadium was much earlier in the season in September 2023, but this year is much later with Hawai’i heading to Las Vegas for a game on the same weekend as the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Hawai’i leads the all-time series of the “Ninth Island Showdown,” 19-15, but are just 6-11 on the road. Safety Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen was a previous member of UNLV before transferring to Hawai’i last season. New UNLV head coach Dan Mullen was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the Tim Tebow-led Florida team that defeated Hawai’i in 2008.

Week 14 — Nov. 29 vs. Wyoming

Hawai’i closes out the regular season at home for the third consecutive year. The Rainbow Warriors have performed well in their final home game dating back to the Nick Rolovich-era as Hawai’i has not lost a “senior night” game since 2017. It will be the fifth rivalry/trophy game that Hawai’i will play in this season with the Paniolo Trophy on the line.