Cal could be spending New Year’s Eve in Hawaii – at least that’s what several college football experts predict.
The Golden Bears (5-3) still need another win to become bowl-eligible for the third straight year, and none of their four remaining games – starting with Saturday afternoon’s home game against 15th-ranked Virginia – is a sure win. Nonetheless, all nine of the reputable bowl-projection sites we cited predict that Cal will be in a bowl game.
What is surprising is that the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu and the Pinstripe Bowl in New York are two postseason destinations predicted for the Bears by multiple experts.
The Hawaii Bowl is supposed to match a Mountain West team with an American Conference team, or possibly a Conference USA team, but ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, On3’s Brett McMurphy and Athlon Sports’ Steven Lassan project that Cal will wind up in the Hawaii Bowl, with either New Mexico or the hometown team, Hawaii, as the Bears’ opponent.
Advertisement
The Pinstripe Bowl is supposed to pair a Big Ten team with an ACC team in its game at Yankee Stadium, and although Cal is an ACC team, the Bears are still supposed to play in one of the six Pac-12 bowls. Because of contract obligations, teams that were members of the Pac-12 in 2023, such as Cal, are tied to the Pac-12 bowls, which are listed at the end of this article.
However, CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford projects that Cal will face Maryland in the Pinstripe Bowl, while Pete Fiutak of College Football News predicts that Cal will play Northwestern in that bowl game.
Two experts also place Cal in the LA Bowl, which is a Pac-12-affiliated bowl and the game that Cal played in last year.
The Las Vegas Bowl and Holiday Bowl are the two other bowls offered as possible bowl destinations for the Bears, who, at this point, will just be happy to get to any bowl game.
Here are the nine bowl projections for Cal:
Advertisement
ESPN (Kyle Bonagura)
Hawaii Bowl – Cal vs. New Mexico
Wednesday, December 24
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)
5 p.m., ESPN
Advertisement
.
ESPN (Mark Schlabach)
Las Vegas Bowl – Cal vs. Nebraska
Wednesday, December 31
Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
Advertisement
12:30 p.m., ESPN
.
CBS Sports (Brad Crawford)
Pinstripe Bowl – Cal vs. Maryland
Saturday, December 27
Advertisement
Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York)
9 a.m., ABC
.
SI (Bryan Fischer)
Holiday Bowl – Cal vs. Utah
Advertisement
Friday, January 2
Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego)
5 p.m., Fox
.
On3 (Brett McMurphy)
Advertisement
Hawaii Bowl – Cal vs. Hawaii
Wednesday, December 24
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)
5 p.m., ESPN
.
Advertisement
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan)
Hawaii Bowl – Cal vs. Hawaii
Wednesday, December 24
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)
5 p.m., ESPN
Advertisement
.
College Football News (Pete Fiutak)
Pinstripe Bowl – Cal vs. Northwestern
Saturday, December 27
Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York)
Advertisement
9 a.m., ABC
.
Pro Football Network
LA Bowl – Cal vs. UNLV
Saturday, December 13
Advertisement
SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
6 p.m., ESPN
.
USA Today (Erick Smith)
LA Bowl – Cal vs. Boise State
Advertisement
Saturday, December 13
SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
6 p.m., ESPN
.
Bowls that have tie-ins to the teams that were in the Pac-12 in 2023, which includes Cal:
Advertisement
LA Bowl — December 13, 6 p.m. Pacific time, SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California), ESPN
Independence Bowl – December 30, 11 a.m. Pacific time, Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana), ESPN
Las Vegas Bowl – December 31, 12:30 p.m. Pacific time, Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas), ESPN
Sun Bowl – December 31, 11 a.m. Pacific time, Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas), CBS
Alamo Bowl – December 30, 6 p.m., Alamodome (San Antonio), ESPN
Advertisement
Holiday Bowl – January 2, 5 p.m., Pacific time, Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego), Fox
Comet C/2025 A6, better known as Comet Lemmon, was one of the latest icy visitors to swing through our neighborhood of the solar system, leaving astronomers and casual skywatchers equally delighted. For observers in Hawaii, the glow of the Milky Way didn’t dim the streak of light made by this comet passing through.
What is it?
Comet Lemmon was discovered in January 2025 and made its closest approach to Earth in late October 2025. But by November 2025, when this image was taken, it had brightened to about the same apparent brightness as the planet Uranus, making it visible to the naked eye even from suburban skies.
Where is it?
This image was taken atop the volcanic peak Mauna Kea, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Comet Lemmon could be seen with the naked eye as it streaked across the sky. (Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURAImage processing: M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab) & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab))
Why is it amazing?
Comets are notoriously unpredictable, so Comet Lemmon’s surprising visibility has felt like a bit of a cosmic bonus for Hawaiian stargazers. And this was a rare treat, as the comet won’t return to Earth’s skies for another 1,350 years, around the year 3375.
Framing this comet is the glow of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, which is easier to spot at higher elevations like Mauna Kea’s peak, where there is less light pollution. The image gives us a souvenir from a celestial visitor that won’t be back for more than a millennium.
Want to learn more?
You can learn more about comets and skywatching.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
WASHINGTON, D.C. (HawaiiNewsNow) – U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) reintroduced a piece of legislation on Thursday to strengthen protections for immigrant families and address long-standing problems in the family immigration system.
The Reuniting Families Act aims to reduce visa backlogs, boost efficiency across the immigration process, and ensure a fairer, more humane process for immigrant families.
“Immigrant families currently experience unnecessary obstacles and delays due to our country’s broken immigration system, keeping families separated for potentially long periods of time,” Hirono said. “By reducing family-based immigration backlogs and making common sense updates to how we treat families, the Reuniting Families Act will help take the first step in the right direction to keeping families together as they navigate our immigration system.”
According to the senators behind this bill, nearly four million people with approved visa applications are currently trapped in a massive immigration backlog, with many waiting more than a decade to reunite with their loved ones.
Advertisement
“As Donald Trump’s inhumane mass deportation campaign rips apart families and communities across the country, it’s paramount we address the unnecessary barriers in our immigration system that have created backlogs and kept families apart for years,” Duckworth said. “Our legislation would implement commonsense reforms to help end family-based backlogs, which keep too many with approved green card applications stuck in bureaucratic limbo, and help get more families where they belong—together.”
The Reuniting Families Act would shorten delays by recapturing unused visas, rolling them into future years, expanding who qualifies as a family member to include permanent partners, and increasing both the total number of available family preference visas and per-country limits.
The bill would also put a time limit on visa processing, so no applicant has to wait more than 10 years for a visa if they have an approved application.
Click here to read the full bill.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
HONOLULU (AP) — Henry Rouhliadeff scored 16 points to lead six Hawaii players in double figures and the Rainbow Warriors beat Division-II Hawaii Hilo 98-46 on Wednesday night.
Rouhliadeff made 6 of 9 from the field and finished with nine rebounds and five assists. Dre Bullock scored 12 points for Hawaii (9-2) and Hunter Erickson, Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, Gytis Nemeiksa and Isaac Finlinson added 11 points apiece.
Jamal Entezami led Hawaii Hilo with 11 points and Jessiya Villa scored 10.
Advertisement
Hawaii shot 51% overall and made 13 3-pointers. The Rainbow Warriors, who went into the game averaging 13.4 assists per game, had a season-high 25 assists on 35 made field goals.
The 52-point margin of victory was Hawaii’s largest since a 106-49 win over Redlands on Jan. 28, 1972, and the third largest in program history. The Rainbow Warriors beat BYU Hawaii by 67 (106-49) in the 1962-63 season.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball