20
0-1 , 0-0
23
Winner
1-0 , 0-0
20
23
Winner
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
|
|
7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 23 |
Game Recap: Football |
HONOLULU — A gritty performance by a hobbled quarterback and a timely takeaway led to a walk-off field goal and the University of Hawai’i football team opened the 2025 season with a pulse-pounding 23-20 win over Stanford on Saturday at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.
On a sun-baked afternoon in Manoa, UH kicker Kansei Matsuzawa kept his cool in drilling two field goals late in the fourth quarter of a dramatic Week 0 matchup. The first tied the game with 2:01 left and the senior from Tokyo nailed a 38-yarder as time expired to give the Rainbow Warriors their first win in five all-time meetings with Stanford and the first over a power conference opponent since 2019.
In his second career start, UH quarterback Micah Alejado threw two touchdown passes to erase an early 10-point deficit before limping to the sideline after taking a hit early in the third quarter. He returned on UH’s next possession and eventually led the Warriors on the tying and game-winning drives.
With UH trailing 20-17 and Stanford again driving in the fourth quarter, UH safety Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen made a potentially game-saving interception with just under six minutes remaining in regulation to set the stage for Matsuzawa’s 37-yard game-tying field goal with just over two minutes left.
The UH defense forced a Stanford three-and-out to give the ball back to Alejado and the Warrior offense. Alejado then led a nine-play march, which included a key scramble on his gimpy leg, to set up Matsuzawa’s game winner.
素晴らしい!!!
Kansei called game 😤#BRADDAHHOOD x #GoBows pic.twitter.com/mitoa5d01T
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) August 24, 2025
Alejado finished the game with 27 completions in 39 attempts for 210 yards and two scores and rushed for 36.
The Warriors twice overcame deficits to rally past a Stanford team that controlled the clock, including a 20-play possession that led to a go-ahead touchdown with 9:41 left. But UH battled back to knock off a power conference team since opening the 2019 season with wins over Arizona and Oregon State.
Stanford set a methodical pace early on, taking opening kickoff and piecing together a 15-play drive that took more than half of the first quarter off the clock. The Cardinal drove to the UH 8 before the Warriors limited the Cardinal to a 23-yard field goal.
A miscue on the ensuing kickoff return placed the ball on the UH 1 and a strip sack in the end zone was recovered by Stanford for a touchdown and the Cardinal led 10-0 at the 7:08 mark of the first quarter.
On UH’s third possession, Alejado sparked the offense with a 31-yard keeper up the middle and completed all four of his pass attempts on a six-play, 58-yard drive capped by 3-yard touchdown pass to Pofele Ashlock with 2:19 left in the period.
Needed it. Got it. #BRADDAHHOOD x #GoBows
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/pDGFFOFI2z
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) August 24, 2025
UH special teams thwarted another Stanford threat early in the second quarter when Luther McCoy blocked a 34-yard field goal attempt. The Cardinal later converted a 46-yard attempt to push the margin to 13-7 with 3:39 left in the first half.
The Warriors put together a nine-play, 75-yard drive assisted by three Stanford penalties and Alejado lofted a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Harris, a transfer from Stanford, to tie the game. Matsuzawa’s extra point then gave UH its first lead and the Warriors went into halftime up 14-13.
DIME 🎯
📺 CBS#BRADDAHHOOD x #GoBows pic.twitter.com/Ej0UQoZi8n
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) August 24, 2025
Alejado endured a scare when he stayed on the field after being tackled from behind. He walked off the field on his own and returned on UH’s next drive, which ended with Matsuzawa’s 40-yard field goal.
The Warriors took the 17-13 lead into the fourth quarter as Stanford ground out a 20-play drive covering 85 yards and taking 9:37 off the clock and reclaimed the lead on a 2-yard run by Micah Ford.
After a UH punt, Stanford again drove across midfield, but Mendiola-Jensen made a leaping snag of an attempted screen pass to give the Warriors possession with 5:58 left.
Nahe said gimme dat 👏
📺 CBS#BRADDAHHOOD x #GoBows pic.twitter.com/3n8LQryZfD
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) August 24, 2025
Alejado connected with Ashlock over the middle for 25 yards and scrambled for 12 more to the Stanford 38. A scramble on third-and-7 came up short at the Stanford 19 and Matsuzawa drilled the game-tying field goal with 2:01 left.
The Warriors forced a Stanford three-and-out and Tama Uiliata’s punt return gave UH possession at its 28 with 1:33 remaining. Alejado hit Harris for two first downs and UH crossed midfield with 48 seconds showing. Alejado completed a pass over the middle to running back Landon Sims, who then rumbled to the Cardinal 21 for a 24-yard gain. The Warriors let the clock run down to 3 seconds before calling their final timeout and set Matsuzawa up for a 38-yard kick.
Matsuzawa left no doubt as his kick split the uprights for his first game-winner.
Cold Blooded Kansei 🧊🥶@kan08sei x #BRADDAHHOOD pic.twitter.com/4kL4Ea2EcC
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) August 24, 2025
The Warriors embark on their first road trip of the season to face Arizona on Aug. 30 in Tucson, Ariz., in their first meeting since the 2019 opener, a 45-38 UH win which was also decided on the game’s final play.
#HawaiiFB
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
