California Golden Bears vs Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Prediction, Odds and Picks for Wednesday, 12/24/25

Christmas Eve will feature one college football bowl game, and it will be the California Bears taking on the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors in the Hawai’i Bowl. This will be the first time since 2019 that Hawai’i will compete in this bowl game. The Rainbow Warriors have a 5-4 record all time when playing in the Hawai’i Bowl. Their record this season was 8-4, and they won 2 of their last four games. Micah Alejado led Hawai’i’s offense this season with 2832 yards passing, 21 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Their defense was led by senior Jackie Johnson III who finished the season with 7.5 sacks. Hawai’i best win this season was a 38-6 win against a San Diego State team that finished their season 9-3. California finished their season 7-5, but they lost three of their last five games. The Bears’ offense is led by freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. He threw for 3117 yards, 17 touchdowns and 9 interceptions this season. Their defense was led by linebacker Cade Uluave who finished the season with 88 tackles. The Bears best wins were at the end of the season when they beat 21st ranked SMU 38-35 and 15th ranked Louisville 29-26. 

At first glance the story of this game seems to be Hawai’i playing in their home state, but the player to watch will be California quarterback and potential 2026 Heisman hopeful Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele returning to his home state in hopes to enjoy a homecoming. The freshman quarterback announced a couple of weeks ago that he plans to stay in Berkeley for next season, so all eyes will be on the future as Sagapolutele tries to cap off his first year with a bowl win. Hawai’i’s quarterback, Micah Alejado, will not only be a tough test for Sagapolutele in this matchup, but also an emotional one. The two quarterbacks were childhood friends in Hawai’i. They grew up playing with and against one another. Alejado will be without his top receiver Jackson Harris in this game due to the transfer portal. Harris finished the season leading Hawai’i in receiving with 963 yards and 12 touchdowns. I believe California has the higher ceiling in this matchup, and I’ll back them in Sagapolutele’s homecoming. 

California +1 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at the ML.