Hawaii Bowl provides perfect Christmas present

HONOLULU – Could there have been a better gift?

The 2025 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl got into the spirit of the season early, providing fans with a holiday reprieve from the current college sporting madness with a perfect present by pitting the University of Hawai’i (8-4) against California (7-5) at 3 p.m. HT on Christmas Eve inside Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.

Script writers couldn’t come up with a more jam-packed edition of the Hawaii Bowl – on the surface, fans get two of the best freshmen quarterbacks in the country facing off while two former teammates stand on the sidelines across the field from each other to lead each squad on the night before Christmas.

Don’t listen to the Grinch’s propaganda that there are too many bowl games, or that it’s pointless to pit Power 4 programs against anyone on the outside looking in. For those who enjoy sports, storylines and the holiday season, the 47 bowl games that we will get at the FBS level alone over the next three weeks fill the bottom of the metaphorical tree with an entire spectrum of presents.

Despite incessant debates about Power 4 versus Group of 6 competition, bowl season being “broken” and the start of another year of the free agency/transfer portal period, there are plenty of tantalizing games getting ready to try and be the “bow” on top of the season from many football programs to their fans.

But with storylines abound, the ‘Bows and Bears could set up for the most fun Mele Kalikimaka matchup ever – something the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future all will make their way out to see.

Before the rubber pellets start to fly on the turf in Mānoa next Wednesday, let’s unwrap some of the gift that is the 2025 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

The Ghost of Hawaii Bowl Past

When fans look to each sideline, there will be no lack of memories to run through.

The Rainbow Warriors have one of the best to ever sling it during the premiere postseason football event in the islands in head coach Timmy Chang, who was twice named as the game’s Most Outstanding Player with back-to-back 400+ yard passing performances in wins over Houston and UAB.

The Bears will rely on the experience of interim head coach Nick Rolovich, who will be the lead man for the Hawaii Bowl for the fourth time in his career, the second-most in the 22-year history of the game behind June Jones (6). His final game in a memorable tenure with the Rainbow Warriors was a victory over Zach Wilson and BYU in the 2019 Hawaii Bowl, which still stands as the last bowl win by the ‘Bows.

Cal, who will see current Oregon DC Tosh Lupoi take over fully following the completion of the season, is also seeking the program’s first bowl win since 2019.

Hawai’i will continue to move forward towards another fun run with Timmy Chang regardless of the result next Wednesday, but the old gunslinger’s friend and former teammate standing in the way of the program that both men have given so much of their lives to adds another layer to the game that most matchups couldn’t dream of getting.

Gifted young QBs who halted portal talk

Everyone hates the actual travel of the holidays.

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and Micah Alejado hate it so much that they shut down talks of leaving their current situations before Christmas even came.

Both southpaw signal callers refreshingly reaffirmed their commitments to their respective programs following standout campaigns as freshmen, a rare sight in the highest-bidder world of college sports.

Sagapolutele announced his intention to stay with the Golden Bears on December 6, the day after watching his alma mater win the 2025 HHSAA Open Division Championship inside T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. The star freshman revealed that Lupoi had taken a flight from his introductory press conference in Berkeley to the islands, spending a few hours with the Sagapolutele family to help re-secure his commitment for Cal.

Alejado needed far fewer words to communicate that he was returning to be Hawai’i’s quarterback in 2026, delighting fans by posting a simple “Run it back” graphic on his social media on Friday to quiet rumors of transferring that got louder after he became the first Mountain West Freshman of the Year winner in program history.

With both seemingly planning to stay in the same spot next year, all signs point to the two Hawaii-born quarterbacks squaring off in the final outing of their first-year campaigns. Alejado gets one final shot to set the Mountain West freshman record for TD passes in a season, sitting two behind Colorado State’s Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi’s 2023 mark of 23 scoring tosses, while having a chance to become just the fifth freshman QB in the FBS to surpass 3,000 yards through the air this year.

Sagapolutele is one of the four first-year gunslingers to already eclipse 3,000 passing yards, finishing the regular season with the 18th-most yards among all QBs nationally with 3,117 yards. JKS gets to end his debut college campaign back where he spent his entire youth working to earn his exact current situation, which is a nice cherry-on-top while he faces off with someone he grew up with on the west side of O’ahu in Alejado.

Both staying put AND playing in the Hawaii Bowl is a gift for anyone who likes football.

Two teams embracing the spirit of the bowl

Part of the fun of Bowl Season is the unique nature of each game.

The Xbox Bowl has been a smashing success in the inaugural year, leaning into the event name’s video game background. The Pop-Tarts Bowl has continued to captivate the attention of fans, adding an interactive fan-vote this year to pick which edible mascot will be “sacrificed” following BYU-Georgia Tech’s conclusion.

So forgive those who might take a little extra joy in having two teams that seem to appreciate the fact they’ll spend their Christmas in the islands playing football.

California has slowly morphed into another west coast program trying to plant a flag in the islands with recent recruiting hauls that include Sagapolutele, Aiden Manutai and LeBron Williams along with Taimane Purcell, Kamo’i Huihui-White, Esaiah Wong and Nainoa Lopes in this year’s class.

The Bears have also embraced “Caloha” on social media with the growing presence of players from the islands. With one of the most famous communities in all of sports (yes, the Calgorithm), it’s been fun to watch the continued banter in the weeks leading up to the game while other P4 programs opted out of their postseason chances.

Since Timmy Chang took over his alma mater, Hawai’i has never shied away from being the pride of the islands while littered with talent from the local high schools. The first three years under the youthful head coach’s leadership were a growth experience for everyone involved, but the foundation was formed to set the runway for the best season of the 2020s for the Rainbow Warriors.

The fans have responded in kind, filling the stands and creating a homefield advantage that helped UH go 6-1 inside the friendly confines of T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in 2025. Despite the excitement for local talent on Cal to come home for the holidays, there have been reminders that Hawai’i’s team dons the green, white and black and there’s no shortage of guys to root for with ties back to the islands.

Multiple UH players spoke after Senior Night about the hope the team could finish the season in the islands in the Hawaii Bowl. Many fans echoed the sentiment and added calls for Cal as the opponent.

They were granted their wish. We should all enjoy it.