Stanford opens a new era Saturday afternoon with Hawaii coming to Stanford Stadium, and both teams arrive with plenty to sort out in their first game of the season.
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m., with the game on ACC Network and KNBR 1050 AM on radio.
This is the third time in four years Stanford has started against Hawaii, although the previous two meetings were in Honolulu. The Cardinal beat Hawaii 37-24 in 2023, giving Troy Taylor a win in his first game as Stanford coach. Last year, Hawaii spoiled Frank Reich’s Stanford debut with a 38-yard field goal as time expired.
Now it’s Tavita Pritchard’s turn to take the sideline for his first home game as head coach, and Stanford is trying to reach five wins in a season for the first time since 2018.
The Cardinal did not dip heavily into the transfer portal, bringing in only six players. The most notable addition is sixth-year senior Davis Warren, who made nine starts at Michigan. Stanford also has some production to build around from last season: junior running back Micah Ford finished with 643 rushing yards, the most by a Cardinal running back since 2019, and senior inside linebacker Matt Rose posted 106 tackles, the most by a Cardinal since 2015.
Hawaii, meanwhile, is coming off a 9-4 season in 2025, its best win total since 2019. That run included a Hawaii Bowl victory over Cal. The challenge now is replacing 17 starters across offense, defense and special teams.
Even with all that turnover, Hawaii brings back some proven pieces. Of its eight returning starters, four were named All-Mountain West in 2025: quarterback Micah Alejado, wide receiver Pofele Ashlock, linebacker Jamih Otis and defensive back Elijah Palmer. Alejado was one of the most productive passers in the country last season, finishing eighth nationally in passing yards per game at 282.4 and second in FBS in completions per game at 25.9.
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