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The University of Hawaii football team rarely has had to travel for a bowl game, as 23 of the 26 contests in which it appeared were played in the Aloha State. That advantage hasn't exactly translated to success, as the Rainbow Warriors went 10-13 in those bowls.

Hawaii (8-4) has the opportunity to improve its record in local bowl games on Wednesday as it takes on California (7-5) at 8 p.m. ET in the 2025 Hawaii Bowl at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Honolulu. The Rainbow Warriors, who appeared in now-defunct bowl games in their home state such as the Poi Bowl, Pineapple Bowl, Aloha Bowl and Oahu Bowl, have played in the Hawaii Bowl nine previous times -- most recently in 2019, when they posted a 38-34 victory over BYU.

The Rainbow Warriors are 5-4 in the Hawaii Bowl and 12-14 overall in their bowl appearances after defeating Houston 28-14 in the 2020 New Mexico Bowl. California, which saw its bowl record fall to 12-13-1 with its 24-13 loss to UNLV in last year's LA Bowl, is making its second appearance in a bowl game held in Hawaii, with its first being a 42-38 loss to Navy in the 1996 Aloha Bowl. 

This year's Hawaii Bowl takes center stage on Wednesday, as there are no games on the NBA, NHL and college basketball schedules. The Rainbow Warriors are 1.5-point favorites against the Golden Bears in the latest consensus college football odds, with the over/under set at 51.5.

Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Wednesday, Dec. 24. All times Eastern

CFB best bets, where to watch

Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs. California

Time: 8 p.m. | Location: Honolulu | TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks -- Model: California -105 | Expert: Hawaii +1.5 (-110, Jeff Hochman)

Both teams ended their regular seasons on a high note, as Hawaii defeated Wyoming 27-7 and California edged then-No. 21 SMU 38-35. This essentially is a home game for the Rainbow Warriors, who won six of their seven contests in Honolulu this year. The Golden Bears split their six road contests in 2025, with one of their victories coming in overtime against then-No. 15 Louisville. Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who is a native of Hawaii, is 18th in the nation with an average of 259.8 passing yards and has thrown for more than 300 yards in each of his team's last two wins. The freshman set a season high with four touchdown passes in the regular-season finale, and the SportsLine Projection Model sees him doing enough to pick up a victory in the Hawaii Bowl as the Golden Bears win in 59% of its simulations. SportsLine expert Jeff Hochman (+542 on his last 16 college football against-the-spread picks) likes the fact that Hawaii is third in the country in red-zone scoring and has a plus-3.6 point differential with QB Micah Alejado, who is ninth nationally with 283.2 passing yards per game. Hochman managed to clock in early on the Rainbow Warriors and got them at +1.5.

Looking ahead

NFL

Lions at Vikings

Time: 4:30 p.m., Thursday | Location: Minneapolis | TV: Netflix | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks -- Model: Lions -7.5 (-105) | Expert: Over 44.5 (-105, R.J. White)

This is a must-win game for the Lions, whose hopes of making three consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 1993-95 are hanging by a thread. Detroit has lost three of its last four contests and needs to win out while the Green Bay Packers lose their final two games in order to earn a wild card berth. The Lions dropped a 27-24 decision to Minnesota at home in Week 9, and the Vikings enter the rematch with a three-game winning streak that has followed a four-game slide. Max Hosmer will be under center for Minnesota in place of J.J. McCarthy (hand), and the SportsLine Projection Model believes that will be a significant advantage for the Lions and is leaning toward a cover by Detroit. SportsLine NFL expert R.J. White (+458 on his last 33 NFL over/under picks) thinks the Lions will produce points as usual and the Vikings will do enough against Detroit's banged-up secondary for the Over to hit.

Broncos at Chiefs

Time: 8:15 p.m., Thursday | Location: Kansas City, Mo. | TV: Prime Video | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks -- Model: Chiefs +13.5 (-112) | Expert: RJ Harvey Over 14.5 carries (-114, PropBetGuy)

Kansas City's nine-year reign atop the AFC West is over and Denver already has secured its second straight playoff berth after enduring an eight-year drought. The race for a new division champion got tighter last week as the Broncos were beaten 34-20 at home by the Jacksonville Jaguars to end their 11-game winning streak and shrink their lead to one game over the Los Angeles Chargers, who topped the Cowboys 34-17 in Dallas for their fourth straight victory. The Chiefs have lost four in a row and are down to third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun as Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew are done for the season with knee injuries. Denver will be eager to atone for last week's performance and move closer to securing their first AFC West title since 2015, but the SportsLine Projection Model doesn't feel a blowout will occur as its simulations have the Chiefs covering the spread 60% of the time. Broncos running back RJ Harvey had only seven carries against Jacksonville after reaching double digits in each of his previous four outings, and SportsLine props expert PropBetGuy (43-25, +1433 on his last 68 NFL player prop picks) expects his workload to be much heavier this week.

NBA

Spurs at Thunder

Time: 2:30 p.m., Thursday | Location: Oklahoma City | TV: ABC | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine pick -- Model: Thunder -9.5 (-106)

The NBA gave its fans a nice present when it scheduled a matchup between the top two teams in the Western Conference on Christmas Day. San Antonio has used a seven-game winning streak to get within 3 1/2 games of Oklahoma City, which won 24 of its first 25 games -- including 16 straight from Nov. 7-Dec. 10 -- but has lost three of its last five. Two of those defeats came against the Spurs, who ended the Thunder's lengthy winning streak with a 111-109 triumph in Las Vegas on Dec. 13 in the NBA Cup semifinals and cruised to a 130-110 victory at home two days ago. Stephon Castle was a major offensive contributor for San Antonio in both games, as he was one of three members of the team with 22 points in the first win and scored 24 on Tuesday. Reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is second in the league in scoring with an average of 32.5 points, led all players in both contests with 29 and 33 points. The Thunder haven't lost back-to-back games since Apr. 4-6 of last season and have dropped three to the Spurs in one campaign only once since 2010-11. The SportsLine Projection Model sees the Thunder answering the bell in a big way Thursday as they cover the large spread in 62% of its simulations.