Man, if you turned off the TV when the Rainbow Warriors were down 21-0, I honestly don't know what to tell you. You missed the kind of game people talk about for a decade. The final UH Hawaii football score ended up being Hawaii 35, Cal 31, but those numbers don't even begin to scratch the surface of the chaos that went down at the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex on Christmas Eve.
It was a classic Hawaii Bowl. Hot, loud, and weirdly emotional.
For most of the first half, it looked like the University of Hawaii was just going to be a polite host for the California Golden Bears. Cal was moving the ball at will. Every time Hawaii tried to get a rhythm, something went sideways. But then Timmy Chang’s squad remembered they were playing on the island. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the atmosphere in Honolulu had shifted from "let's just get to the afterparty" to "we might actually pull this off."
The Comeback: How the UH Hawaii Football Score Flipped
Most people looking up the uh hawaii football score today are probably wondering how a team trailing by three touchdowns finds a way to win. It wasn't one big play. It was a grind.
Micah Alejado was basically a magician for three quarters. He finished the night 32-of-46 for 274 yards and three touchdowns. He was taking hits, scrambling for his life, and somehow finding Pofele Ashlock over and over. Ashlock was a beast, hauling in 14 catches for 123 yards and two scores.
But the real drama? That was the final two minutes.
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Cal had just taken a 31-28 lead. Their freshman QB, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele—who is actually from Hawaii, which is a whole other layer of irony—punched it in from the 1-yard line with less than two minutes left. It felt like the air just left the stadium. Hawaii had fought all the way back just to watch the game slip away at the very end.
Then things got even scarier. On the final drive, Alejado took a massive hit. He stayed down. The trainers came out. Every fan in the stands was thinking the same thing: Not like this.
Enter Luke Weaver: The 10-Second Hero
With Alejado out and the game on the line, backup quarterback Luke Weaver stepped onto the field. He hadn't played much all season. Usually, when your backup comes in with seconds left, you're looking for a field goal to tie it.
But Timmy Chang? He's a gambler. He has been since his days as a record-setting QB for Hawaii back in the early 2000s.
Instead of playing for the tie, Weaver dropped back and launched a 22-yard beauty toward the end zone. Nick Cenacle, who had been dealing with an injury and was questionable all week, climbed the ladder between two Cal defenders. He snatched the ball out of the air with 10 seconds left on the clock.
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Touchdown.
The final uh hawaii football score of 35-31 was cemented right there. It was Weaver’s only pass of the game. Talk about making it count.
Breaking Down the 2025 Season Stats
To really understand why this score matters, you've gotta look at the bigger picture of the 2025 season. Hawaii finished 9-4 overall and 5-3 in the Mountain West. That is a massive step forward for the program.
- Average Points Per Game: 29.0
- Total Offense: 393.8 yards per game
- Passing Leader: Micah Alejado (3,106 yards, 24 TDs)
- Rushing Leader: Landon Sims (559 yards)
- Receiving Standout: Jackson Harris (963 yards, 12 TDs)
The defense, led by coordinator Dennis Thurman, was hit-or-miss throughout the year, but they stepped up when it mattered. They forced Cal into a zero-turnover game, which sounds bad until you realize Hawaii didn't turn it over either. It was just clean, high-level football.
Why Nobody Saw This Coming
Coming into the season, the Mountain West media poll had Hawaii finishing 7th. People weren't sold on the Run-and-Shoot offense returning to its former glory. There were questions about whether Timmy Chang could actually recruit at a high enough level to compete with the big boys like Boise State or UNLV.
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Winning nine games and a bowl trophy against a Power 4 school (Cal is in the ACC now, remember—times have changed) is a huge statement. It basically validates everything Chang has been trying to build.
Key Matchups That Defined the Year
While the bowl game is what everyone is talking about right now, the road to that 35-31 score started months ago.
- The Stanford Opener: Hawaii won 23-20 on a last-second field goal by Kansei Matsuzawa. It set the tone that this team wasn't going to quit.
- The Air Force Shootout: A 44-35 win in Colorado Springs. Winning at altitude against a triple-option team is never easy, but Alejado proved he could handle the pressure.
- The UNLV Reality Check: A 38-10 loss in late November. This was the low point. It looked like the wheels were coming off, but the team bounced back to beat Wyoming 27-7 the following week.
Honestly, the Wyoming game was probably the most important "hidden" score of the year. If they don't win that, they don't go into the Hawaii Bowl with any momentum. They played angry in that game, and that edge carried over into the comeback against Cal.
What’s Next for Hawaii Football?
The dust has settled on the 2025 season, but the work for 2026 has already started. Matt Elliott is the new Athletic Director, and there is a lot of buzz around the recruiting classes coming in.
Names like Aiden Manutai and Malakai Lee are the types of local talents that Hawaii usually loses to big mainland schools. Keeping that talent on the island is going to be the difference between a fluke nine-win season and becoming a consistent Top 25 contender.
If you're looking for actionable ways to stay on top of the program as we head into the off-season:
- Watch the Transfer Portal: Hawaii benefited hugely from transfers like Jackson Harris (from Stanford). Expect them to be active again in January.
- Check the Spring Schedule: Spring practice usually kicks off in late February or March. That's when we'll see if Luke Weaver and Micah Alejado are heading for a real QB battle or if it's still Alejado's team.
- Follow Recruiting: Keep an eye on the local high school commits. Timmy Chang's "Braddahhood" mantra only works if the best kids in the state stay home.
The 2025 season was a wild ride. From a 0-21 deficit in the bowl game to a nine-win finish, the Rainbow Warriors proved that you can never truly count them out when they're playing at home.