Angling for offense, Hawaii welcomes Stanford for early opener

Stanford opens the season with a new head coach making his debut in a road trip to Honolulu to face Hawaii on Saturday.
If this sounds like a repeat, buckle your chin strap.
Longtime NFL coach Frank Reich assumed the interim title at Stanford on March 31. Stanford parted with Troy Taylor after two disappointing seasons. Taylor’s tenure began with a 37-24 win at Hawaii on Sept. 1, 2023, but the Cardinal went just 5-18 for the remainder of his run with the team. Taylor was fired last March amid allegations he mistreated administrative staff, assertions the dismissed coach has publicly denied.
With off-field controversy still swirling, the 2025 Cardinal aim for their first winning season since the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and first postseason appearance since 2018.
“As I look at what the players have accomplished since we’ve been here, it gives me a lot of confidence,” Reich said.
Among those inspiring confidence in the new coaching staff is Ben Gulbranson, who was named starting quarterback for the opener. An Oregon State transfer, Gulbranson helped lead the Beavers to a 10-win finish in 2022, but functioned primarily as a reserve in 2023 and 2024.
Gulbranson, who passed for 2,648 yards and 15 touchdowns in his time at Oregon State, is vital in the mission to revive a Stanford offense that ranked No. 106 nationally in scoring last season with 22.8 points per game.
“The coaches over here, they’re great resources and they know so much about the game,” Gulbranson told Cardinal Sports Report. “I’m just trying to come in here, be a sponge and learn as much as possible every day.”
Select few FBS offenses were less prolific than Stanford a season ago. Hawaii was among that group.
The Rainbow Warriors averaged 22.3 points per game to rank No. 111 nationally, which was the program’s best in three seasons.
Hawaii coach Timmy Chang set the NCAA career passing record as the Rainbow Warriors quarterback in 2004, operating in a pass-happy, run-and-shoot attack.
Visions of returning to those high-scoring days was revived at the conclusion of the 2024 season when freshman quarterback Micah Alejado threw for 469 yards on 37-of-57 passing with five touchdowns against New Mexico.
Alejado is throwing to a corps of pass catchers that includes a familiar face for Stanford, wide receiver Jackson Harris. Harris transferred to Hawaii from Stanford where he played nine games in the previous two seasons and caught for a touchdown last year.
“I can’t wait for everybody to get to watch him,” Chang said of Harris. “People will get to see how much of a talent he is.”
The position group should be a team strength. Beyond Harris, Hawaii features Kentucky transfer Brandon White and two preseason All-Mountain West picks in slotbacks Pofele Ashlock and Nick Cenacle.
This is the earliest Hawaii has ever opened a college football season by one day and the only time the program has played an active member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.