It isn’t exactly the midnight ET “chase game” that college football bettors love and loathe, but there is football on the Island Saturday night, and that is more than enough to get the juices flowing for a new season.
Hawaii comes into the 2025 season with some cautious optimism thanks to some progress under Timmy Chang, but mostly because of what we saw from freshman quarterback Micah Alejado in a small sample size.
Alejado, whose small frame kept him off most recruiting lists despite obscene numbers in high school, completed 70 percent of his passes (49-for-70) for 585 yards (8.4 YPC) and tallied six touchdowns against zero interceptions.
Small samples, and all of that, but you could see why Rainbow Warrior fans are letting themselves get carried away with Alejado.
A big performance for the 5-foot-10 Hawaii native and the ‘Bows on Saturday against Stanford could get this bandwagon rolling out of control before Week 1.
Hawaii is a 2.5-point favorite over the Cardinal on Saturday evening (7:30 p.m. ET).
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford | +2.5 | +115 | Over 50.5 (-110) |
| Hawaii | -2.5 | -135 | Under 50.5 (-110) |
While there is some guarded optimism in Honolulu, the same can’t be said in Stanford.
The Cardinal are in no man’s land right now with former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich’s hands on the wheel in an interim basis.
Reich’s marching orders are to do better than 3-9, which has been Stanford’s record four years on the spin, but even that low bar could be tough.
The offense seems to be lacking playmakers, and the defense is projected to be a sieve again. Bill Connelly ranks Stanford’s D as the 96th-best unit in the country.
Hawaii’s defense is just slightly better, but they shouldn’t be too concerned about getting overrun by Stanford in this one.
This game should play right into Hawaii’s hands. The Rainbow Warriors are at home, they’ve got a potential cult hero at quarterback and Stanford may not even get off the plane.
I like the ‘Bows to cover the number, and wouldn’t argue with anybody backing alternate spreads in a Hawaii rout.
Things get weird on the Island, after all.
The Play: Hawaii -2.5 (-110, BetMGM)
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.