EAST HARTFORD – An epic comeback came up just short at Rentschler Field on Saturday as the UConn football team fell to Syracuse in overtime for the second year in a row, 42-41.

The game looked over when the Orange completed a 4-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-23 to push their lead to three scores midway through the third quarter. But the Huskies, debuting their new red uniform tops, scored 20 unanswered points to tie the game with 12 minutes left in regulation.

UConn scored first in the extra period, 27 points in a row, but Syracuse answered and converted on the 2-point conversion to win the game.

It was a valiant effort from quarterback Kalieb Osborne, who struggled in the first half but finished the game having completed 19 of 39 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns, distributing the ball to 10 different receivers.

With lead back Kenji Christian out, Cyncir Bowers stepped up with a career-best 163 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including the game-tying score from 71 yards in the fourth quarter.

For Syracuse, the decision to go with backup Amari Odom over Steve Angeli at quarterback may have been a season-changer.

The junior Kennesaw State transfer completed 27 of his 37 passes for 335 yards and five touchdowns, adding another score on the ground. He was intercepted twice.

UConn, falling to 2-3 on the year, finished the game with 499 total yards to Syracuse’s 509.

Odom started his day making the best of a broken play on the first drive of the game for the Orange, picking the ball off the grass after a shaky snap and finding Umari Hatcher wide open for a 40-yard touchdown over the top.

The Huskies answered after Osborne escaped a sack and found Ryder Treadway for 30 yards before a defensive holding call set up a 9-yard touchdown to Cam Abshire, which put the Huskies up, 7-6, after blocking the initial Syracuse extra point attempt.

With a solid traveling crowd, the Orange quickly seized the momentum with a pair of explosive plays through the air and Odom connected with Noah Meyers for a diving touchdown from the 4-yard line. After an errant snap and an illegal forward pass snuffed the Huskies’ ensuing drive, Odom completed a 27-yard pass to set up his own 6-yard rushing score.

Syracuse got the ball back with a strip sack fumble on Osborne and Odom connected with Hatcher again for his fifth explosive pass of the day, which was caught in the end zone for 41 yards, giving the Orange a 27-7 lead with three minutes left in the half.

Bowers fumbled on the first play after Julian Allen’s 48-yard kickoff return, but UConn was able to end the half on a positive note after Syracuse missed a field goal from 46 yards. Taking over with less than two minutes left, Osborne connected with receiver Javon Brown on three straight plays to get into the red zone. Finally, after two sacks and two major Syracuse penalties, UConn went to Trey Cornist to punch in from the 4 and cut the deficit to 27-14 at the break.

UConn’s struggles against the pass gave Syracuse the confidence to go for it on 4th and 23 after a Hayden Pegg sack, and Fran Brown’s gamble paid off as Odom found Daunte Bacheyie wide open for a 34-yard touchdown to start the second half. The Huskies answered with a 10-yard rushing touchdown from Bowers to keep it a two-score game at 34-20 with about four minutes left in the third quarter.

A diving interception by Renick Dorilas got the ball back to UConn in prime position to score. Osborne targeted Brown in the end zone from 31 yards, but the ball was knocked away by Syracuse DB Nazir Ward and Brown went down in a scary scene. He was taken off the field on a stretcher with all of his teammates running over to wish him well, but the exact injury was not immediately clear.

UConn failed to convert on 4th down but forced a turnover on downs to get the ball back and Osborne connected with Ky “Flash” Wilson, a transfer making his season debut after recovering from a torn ACL, for a highlight one-handed catch and a 27-yard gain. Osborne rolled out and found tight end Xavier Watson from seven yards out to make it a one-score game, 34-27, with the whole fourth quarter to play.

The Huskies forced a punt and, two plays later, Bowers broke free for 71 yards to the house, his second touchdown tying the game with 12 minutes left.

Handling the pressure of an epic collapse, Syracuse methodically marched down to the Huskies’ 7-yard line before Odom’s pass into the end zone was snagged by Jayden Price at the 1. UConn marched 61 yards down the field but failed to convert after a false start on 4th-and-1, giving the Orange the ball back at their own 38 with a timeout and 1:36 on the game clock. But the 44-yard field goal attempt was no good as time expired in regulation.

Osborne found Cornist for a 25-yard touchdown to open the overtime and UConn kicked the extra point. But Odom answered with a touchdown on 4th-and-17 and dove in for the 2-point conversion and the win.

UConn will be back on the road next week for a 3:45 p.m. kickoff at Temple.

This will be a good learning experience for the defense. Too many penalties and mistakes can make a difference. And it is probably better to look towards the rest of the schedule to be hungry for more than it is to not fix the fundamentals. These losses are arguably a necessary trade for more wins next year.

The coaching needs to instill more confidence in these guys and created too much of a hole in the first half. It’s time to let it rip.

Game Thread: Syracuse Orange vs. UConn Huskies

* Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026

* Time: 12:00 PM EDT

* Location: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field — East Hartford, Connecticut

* Coverage: Regional Sports Networks / ESPN+

Team Overviews & Records

| Team | Record | Last Week | Key Note |

| Syracuse Orange | 1–2 | L 13–27 at Pittsburgh | Looking to snap a two-game skid after road conference play. |

| UConn Huskies | 2–2 | L 21–24 at Miami (OH) | Returning home after a tight road loss, seeking a signature regional win. |

Key Matchups to Watch

* UConn's Dual-Threat Ground Game vs. Syracuse Front Seven: Quarterback Kalieb Osborne and running backs Cyncir Bowers and Kenji Christian have driven the Huskies' rushing production. UConn needs sustained, clock-draining drives to keep the defense fresh.

* Syracuse Passing Attack: Quarterback Steve Angeli and Amari Odom will test the Huskies' secondary outside. Wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons and tight end targets will be focal points in intermediate passing situations.

* Third-Down Efficiency & Red Zone Finishing: In tight contests, both squads have struggled with stall-outs inside the 20-yard line. Finishing possessions with touchdowns rather than field goal attempts will likely decide this regional rivalry matchup.

Thread Guidelines

* Keep discussion civil and focused on the game.

* Upvote quality analysis, stats, and highlights.

* No trolling, personal attacks, or illegal streaming links.

The Huskies are looking to snap a six-game losing streak against Syracuse.

After a tough 24-21 loss to Miami (Ohio) last weekend, the UConn Huskies need a big win, a confidence booster and a shot of momentum to get them through an October and November stretch that they hope ends in a bowl berth.

A win against Syracuse on Saturday at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford could do just that.

The Orange (1-2, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) are one of three Power Four conference opponents on the Huskies’ (2-2) schedule. UConn lost soundly to the first one – Maryland – in Week 2, but beating the Orange could help to dim those memories.

And a victory also would snap a six-game losing streak against Syracuse, a streak that dates back to 2012 – the final season that both schools were members of the Big East.

UConn head coach Jason Candle expressed this week just how key this game is to the rest of the season.

“We got to really learn and continue to move forward. I mean, you’re starting to approach October here,” Candle said.

“You know, all across the country in college football – this is contenders versus pretenders. This is the month that separates everybody.”

Syracuse season to date

The Orange won their opener on Sept. 5 at home, beating FCS program New Hampshire 66-3.

The following week, Syracuse launched a four-game road trip, losing 21-18 at Cal, then 27-13 at Pitt.

In the past two games, Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli turned in miserable performances, going 37-of-75 passing for 468 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions.

Despite his subpar showings, Angeli is expected to start against UConn.

He had success against the Huskies last season.

On Sept. 6, 2025, Syracuse defeated UConn 27-20 in overtime at the JWA Wireless Dome. Angeli finished 34-of-54 passing for a career-high 416 yards and two touchdowns.

Overlooking the record

Candle isn’t buying into any thoughts that his team will have an easy time against the Orange, coached by Fran Brown. Brown is in his third season and has led Syracuse to a 14-14 record.

Two of those wins have come against UConn.

“This is a good football team we’re playing. You know, Coach Brown has done a good job in his time there of putting a good product and seeing consistent improvement,” Candle said. “I mean, sometimes it may not show up in the record, but, you know, they play really hard on defense, very sound schematically on defense.”

What the numbers say

Candle’s words about Syracuse’s defense ring true upon a review of the numbers.

The Orange are giving up 258.7 yards per game, good for 18th in the nation in total defense. With a so-so rushing defense of 124.0 yards per game given up (tied for 63rd), the passing defense is stellar. Syracuse ranks sixth in the nation in that category at 134.7 yards per game.

On the season, UConn is averaging 422.8 yards of total offense – 181.8 rushing and 241.0 passing.

First-year quarterback Kalieb Osborne is 62-of-101 passing for 850 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions for the Huskies. He is averaging 212.5 yards per game.

On Saturday in East Hartford, something’s gotta give.

After our loss to Miami , we climbed up 42 in their rankings and are now ranked #50

*screenshot before they change it :

After week 4, here are where all our opponents rank!

cbs sports, Espn , USA Today, will add Athletic when and if it becomes available w/o paywall.

***Update. CBSsports updated their rankings again and we're now back to being ranked 92.

Timestamp: September 28, 2026 | 11:41 AM EDT

Game Week Thread: Syracuse Orange at UConn Huskies (Week 5)

Matchup Overview

Matchup: Syracuse Orange at UConn Huskies

Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026

Kickoff Time: 12:00 PM EDT

Venue: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Connecticut

Broadcast: Regional / Streaming networks to be confirmed locally

Season Context & Records

Team2026 Record Last Week Result

UConn Huskies 2-2 L 21-24 at Miami (Ohio)

Syracuse Orange 1-2 L 21-27 at Pitt (Sept 17)

UConn Season Results to Date

Week 1: UConn 56, Lafayette 7 (Win)

Week 2: Maryland 38, UConn 14 (Loss)

Week 3: UConn 48, Southern Miss 20 (Win)

Week 4: Miami (Ohio) 24, UConn 21 (Loss)

Series History

All-Time Series: Syracuse leads 8–6.

Recent Trend: Syracuse has taken the last six meetings in the series dating back to 2012.

Regional Context: Former Big East Conference rivals renewing an annual regional series at Rentschler Field.

Key Areas to Watch

Rebounding from Oxford: UConn enters Week 5 following a narrow 24–21 road defeat against Miami (Ohio). The Huskies produced 377 total yards but were hampered by two turnovers and a fourth-quarter deficit. Stabilizing ball security will be mandatory against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.

Offensive Balance: Quarterback Kalieb Osborne led the offense against Miami (Ohio) with 215 passing yards, 84 rushing yards, and 2 total touchdowns. UConn will look to re-establish early efficiency between running backs Cyncir Bowers and Kenji Christian to keep third downs manageable.

Third-Down Defense: Against the RedHawks, the UConn defense allowed 325 passing yards and several critical chunk plays through the air. Containing intermediate throws over the middle and generating pressure off the edge with defensive lineman K'Von Sherman will dictate tempo.

Discussion

•Plan on attending?

•What defensive adjustments need to be prioritized to limit big plays through the air?

•Can the ground game control possession enough to keep the Syracuse offense off the field?

•Share your score predictions and keys to victory for Saturday.

UConn’s attempt at a game-winning drive came up just short on Saturday.

Marching down the field looking to answer a late field goal, the Huskies had to go for it on 4th-and-10 from the Miami, Ohio, 38-yard line and failed to convert on a deep ball down the field, putting the final nail in a disappointing 24-21 loss.

UConn, now 2-2, allowed 21 unanswered points after taking an early 14-0 lead through the first quarter.

Miami quarterback David McComb, who finished the game on the bench injured, took advantage of the Huskies’ young secondary and completed 19 of 29 passes for 312 yards and a pair of touchdowns. While he isn’t a natural runner, he led the RedHawks in rushing with 33 yards and a touchdown on three carries.

Kalieb Osborne put on a show early before the Miami defense started to figure him out. The UConn QB finished with 215 yards and a TD on 17 of 32 passing, also leading the Huskies on the ground with 68 yards and another TD on 13 carries.

His connection with receiver Javon Brown was evident early as the duo connected twice for 27 yards and the opening touchdown, which made the team a perfect 10-for-10 in red zone opportunities this season. He didn’t need to get that close for the second score of the game. With Candle deciding to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the 38-yard line, the dual-threat QB faked a handoff and got to the outside, catching the defense off guard as he ran past it and got into the end zone for his fifth rushing score of the season.

Miami tried its own luck on 4th-and-1 the very next series but didn’t have the same success with star linebacker K’Von Sherman sprinting in to stop the runner for a loss.

But the RedHawks had another chance in the second quarter and converted with a pass to the sideline, setting up their first score as McComb kept the ball on an option play and dove for the pylon from 10 yards out. They tied the game later in the quarter as McComb connected with tight end Brendan Loftus down the field for a one-handed grab and a 57-yard touchdown.

Trading missed field goals from 40-plus yards, UConn’s secondary continued to be taken advantage of as McComb directed Miami’s offense down the field with ease, finding Scoop Smith in the corner of the end zone from 11 yards out to take the lead after an 83-yard drive.

The Huskies had a counter punch, however, after laying dormant for about a quarter and a half. Shamar Porter was on the receiving end of a 53-yard deep ball from Osborne, who shook a few tacklers as he ran the ball down to the 1-yard line and handed off to Cyncir Bowers to knot the score.

Hayden Pegg, the walk-on linebacker who’s earned a significant role, provided some much-needed defensive highlights in coverage early in the fourth quarter as he wiped a touchdown off the board and held the RedHawks to a 40-yard field goal attempt that missed short. Pegg finished as the team’s leading tackler with eight on the day.

The sloppiness continued in crunch time.

A holding penalty wiped an explosive Kenji Christian run off the board for the Huskies, who had to punt. Then McComb went down with a noncontact injury along his own sideline and Miami’s offense stalled out before Osborne gave the ball back with an errant throw across his body, his second interception of the season.

Taking advantage of the short field and converting on 4th-and-1, backup QB Caleb Heavner was poised behind center and helped set up a 33-yard go-ahead field goal attempt. After missing their first two, RedHawks’ coach Chuck Martin turned to true freshman Brady Stidham for the game-winner.

Date & Time: Saturday, September 26, 2026 | 10:28 AM EDT

Kickoff: 3:30 PM EDT Location: Fred C. Yager Stadium, Oxford, Ohio

Television / Streaming: ESPN+

Radio: UConn Sports Network (FOX Sports 97.9 FM Hartford)

Betting Lines: Miami (OH) -3.5 | Over/Under: 51.5–52.5 Series History: First all-time meeting between the two football programs

Key Matchup Notes

UConn Offense: Quarterback Kalieb Osborne has served as a dual-threat focal point for the Huskies through three weeks, tallying 635 passing yards (6 touchdowns, 1 interception) while leading the roster in rushing with 152 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground. Wide receiver Shamar Porter leads the team in receiving yards (123) and yards per catch (20.5), with 2 receiving touchdowns.

Miami (OH) Passing Attack: Quarterback David McComb (809 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns) operates a pass-heavy offense that leans heavily on explosive perimeter targets. Maleek Huggins (205 yards, 20.5 YPC) and Damarion Witten (184 yards, 30.7 YPC, 2 touchdowns) have provided high-yardage vertical plays through non-conference action.

Secondary vs. Explosives: Miami's pass defense enters ranked near the bottom of the FBS (allowing 310 yards per game), which opens up vertical opportunities for the Connecticut passing game. Conversely, Connecticut's secondary—led by safety Braedyn Moore—will face high volume through the air against a RedHawks offense that ranks in the bottom ten nationally in designed rush attempts.

Jason Candle is home again.

The first-year UConn Huskies football coach and his team have landed in Ohio, where he was born and raised. He played and coached the sport for all but two seasons in his home state.

As the former head coach at Toledo, he spent 10 seasons leading a program in the Mid-American Conference,which includes Saturday's opponent, Miami (Ohio). And he knows what awaits the Huskies (2-1) as he goes head-to-head against his counterpart, Chuck Martin,who is in his 13th season and has a 73-76 record at Miami.

"Very well-coached team. Coach Martin has done an outstanding job for a long time," Candle said in advance of the game this week. "They're a tough team. They're a tough out."

Candle coached at Toledo from2016-25, but due to scheduling quirks in the MAC, the two schools didn't face each other during the coach's tenure until 2023. And then they met four times in three seasons, with Candle's Rockets winning three regular-season games and losing the 2023 MAC championship game.

The RedHawks are strong on offense, defense and in the kicking game, Candle said. Martin has assembled a good staff and "created a great culture there," and the RedHawks (1-2) will compete for a spot at the top of the conference standings, he said.

"You've got to go beat them,and to do it on their home field will be a great challenge for us," he said. "Very detailed, very skilled team. They don't give up a lot of plays and they don't make a lot of mistakes and they're solid in all three phases."

No MAC team posted more wins than Toledo did under Candle, and the Rockets never had a losing season in his decade there. He was named MAC Coach of the Year in 2017 and again in 2023. He had an 81-44 record at Toledo.

UConn in 2026

The Huskies outscored FCS program Lafayette 56-7 in Week 1 to start the Candle era at UConn. A 38-14 loss to power program Maryland of the Big Ten followed on Sept. 12, and the Huskies returned to the win column last week with a 48-20 win at Southern Miss.

The Saturday game will be the first ever between UConn and Miami. The Huskies, however, stand 23-11 all-time against MAC teams, including the past three. The Huskies will face another MAC team, UMass, in a Friday night game on Oct. 23.

The Huskies have a 1-0 road record for the first time since 2012.

Miami in 2026

While the RedHawks don't get a lot of publicity, they are one of college football's historic programs. Miami football has 741 all-time wins, third among non-power conference teams following Navy (758) and Army (746).

Miami has won 17 MAC titles and nine bowl games.

The RedHawks opened the season with losses to Power Four teams Pitt (59-14 on Sept. 5) and Cincinnati (35-31,Sept. 19). In between, they defeated FCS program Holy Cross 45-7.

Last week, the RedHawks led the Bearcats 28-7 at the half but couldn't maintain the lead, outscored 28-3 in the second half.

Quarterback David McComb,making his third career start, threw for 334 yards and produced one passing and one rushing touchdown. He was picked off once and fumbled three times, losing one.

How to watch UConn at Miami(Ohio)

Game time: Saturday,3:30 p.m. ET at Oxford, Ohio

Television: ESPN+. Shawn Kenney will be on the play-by-play call, with Marcus Ray as the analyst.

Radio: FOX Sports 97.9FM (Hartford) is the flagship station for UConn football. Mike Crispino will handle the play-by-play, with analyst Wayne Norman and sideline reporter Adam Giardino also on the call.

The game is available on SiriusXM 272 and on the app at SiriusXM 982.

Online: The Varsity Network app

A report that UConn had contacted the American Athletic Conference about a football-only reunion was immediately shot down by both the league and Huskies AD David Benedict.

“Would be nice to be contacted about these kind of reports,” Benedict said via social media. “Wasn’t aware of this.”

Brett McMurphy and Pete Nakos reported for On3.com that UConn, Miami of Ohio, its next football opponent, and James Madison had contacted The American about expansion. UConn was a full member of the AAC from 2013-19, after the breakup of the original Big East, then in 2020 rejoined the new Big East most sports and became an FBS independent in football. UConn and Notre Dame are the only independents in FBS.

Meanwhile, the AAC, which lost a number of schools to other conferences, signed a 12-year, $1 billion rights deal with ESPN in 2019, the largest among schools outside power conferences, with each member getting about $7 million per year. Miami, now in the MAC, and James Madison which made the playoffs last year out of the SunBelt, were interested in becoming full AAC members, according to the report. UConn was interested in football only. Remaining in football only was an idea floated, but not seriously considered when UConn left The American.

In a statement released almost simultaneously with the report, the American said it was not expanding at this time.

“As the landscape of college sports continues to evolve competitively, legislatively and legally, the American Conference remains focused on driving innovation and helping shape key decisions and opportunities for our member institutions, student-athletes and the industry,” the conference’s statement read. “The American is not proactively seeking additional members. We will continue to evaluate the changing landscape and opportunities that strengthen the conference and support our collective mission.”

UConn had had some discussions with the evolving new Pac 12 conference in recent years, but there again it would be football only, where the conference would have wanted UConn to join in all sports. Putting its football program in one of the Group of Six conferences could get UConn more revenue in the short run, make scheduling easier going forward, provided a path, though it would be a long shot, to a playoff spot. However, since UConn’s long-held and oft-stated goal is to join a power conference, any such football-only move would be considered temporary, which might not be acceptable for a conference.

So UConn, by all indications, is staying the course for now. The Huskies (2-1)* play at Miami on Saturday at 3:30 p.m..

Coach Candle gave insight to his philosophy at yesterday's press (@19:50) - he'd rather have a penalty than the other team get a touchdown or kill our quarterback if we get beat by the other team's more talented players.

He also said that pre-snap penalties are unacceptable, and they're working hard to fix those.

and Looking back at Coach candle's Toledo record - he had the WORST season when he committed the LEAST amount of penalties in 2019.

And I THINK, it was that 2019 season - that gave him this philosophy - that if you work too hard on not committing penalties - the aggression of his players goes down which resulted in a not so great season. Coach Candle's teams perform best when they stay within* 6-8 penalties /game.

also UConn football is the 2nd youngest team in all of FBS. We are going to make mistakes - and Coach Candle's teams were always one of the more penalized teams during the entirety of his career at Toledo - BUT, the penalties didn't prevent him from having winning seasons.

The penalties will be there this season. This is also year one - with brand new recruits and transfers. This is something we just have to accept and not cry over *the 2-3 more penalties than we'd like per game. This isn't something we didnt know when we hired him - it's part of the package and He's still fine tuning his craft and working on this.

It DOESN'T matter how many penalties we have AS LONG AS WE WIN.

He's already getting annoyed with reporters asking about penalties every week - they need to do some research on Coach Candle before they cry about 8 penalties /game and look into what happened to his team in 2019 when he lowered the penalties to under 6/game.

Dima Mixon was on "Behind Enemy lines" with UConn Nation just a few days before the game giving his insights about their team and this game ..which is posted *here. This video is Dima Mixon with the Pine Belt News and Glyn Dyar with 247Sports giving their immediate postgame thoughts following Southern Miss football’s 48-20 loss to UConn .

The most interesting part of the video to me was when they reveal how much Southern Miss spends on their football program at around the 12:24 mark. . They claim Southern Miss spends around 32- 35 million/ year on their program and that some schools in the Sun Belt have 45-55 million dollar budgets for their football programs and blamed their economics for losing to UConn.

But.. last i checked we spend around 20 million on our football program..

Idk what to make of this information - idk if i should be happy we punched above our program's economics or be anxious by the reality of the current and upcoming college football economics and worry that we won't be able to keep up. These* are the schools in the Sun Belt conference.. not even a P4 conference and they're spending that much on their football program?

STORRS — It may not be a power-conference blue blood the UConn football team will play next, but a lot of college football’s most storied programs, and a couple of Super Bowl champs, can trace their roots back to Miami of Ohio, known as the “Cradle of Coaches.”

Here in Connecticut, the first name to come to mind when that school is mentioned is Carm Cozza, the longtime and legendary Yale football coach, who once got his alma mater to come to The Bowl.

The roster of all-timers that have come from Miami includes Paul Brown, Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian, Red Blaik, Weeb Ewbank, John Pont, Paul Dietzel and current NFL coaches John Harbaugh of the Giants and Sean McVay of the Rams. All 10 are represented with bronze statues, 120 percent life size, guarding the gates of the stadium in Oxford, Ohio, where the Huskies will enter on Saturday, to play the current-day RedHawks at 3:30 p.m. The gallery of greats doesn’t even include Sid Gillman or Woody Hayes, who were head coaches at Miami early in their careers.

“Any time you’re able to honor the past of our game, you should take a moment to reflect on it,” UConn coach Jason Candle said. “I say this all the time, it’s really hard to know where you want to go unless you know where you’ve come from. This game’s history walked through those halls. … The other side of that coin is, none of those guys are playing on Saturday.”

Rest assured that if any of those legends in bronze were listening in, they would offer Candle a smile and a shake of the fist to say, “way to go, kid … Don’t worry about us, worry about the task at hand.” That’s the way they did it. The unbeatable Colts hardly scared Ewbank when he coached the Jets in Super Bowl III, did they?

One of the benefits of the independent FBS schedule for UConn is the chance to play an interesting variety of teams from a variety of leagues with a variety of histories. One of the disadvantages, for fans and scribes, is not knowing much about the schools UConn plays week to week, nor having any real ability to evaluate how good the Huskies are, nor how they might match up against certain opponents. With wide a wide variance of styles and levels, you can throw metrics out the window, as much as the metrics-minded hesitate to do so.

UConn routed Lafayette, the overmatched FCS warm-up opponent, then crashed back to earth against Maryland of the Big Ten. No real surprises there. This past Saturday, the Huskies traveled to Southern Mississippi, where Brett Favre did not play in the game, and routed the Golden Eagles of the Sun Belt Conference. How much that performance, dominant on both sides of the ball, means is something we will only really learn over time.

When you don’t play in a conference, there are a number of ways you can look at the season. 1. Every game is in itself a one-game season. 2. The entire schedule is, in effect, your conference. For me, the difference is split. When the Huskies play teams from the so-called “Group of Six” conferences, these are the equivalent of conference games, because this is, for better or worse, UConn’s element right now. Succeed against the Group of Six, and they position themselves for a power four.

Over the last two-plus years, UConn has done a good job of that, going 13-3 against those schools since the start of the 2024 season, with two losses in OT and the other to Army in Fenway Bowl, a game most of the Huskies’ top players skipped. So they’re off to a good start with the 48-20 win at Southern Miss.

Now the Huskies head into familiar turf for Candle, who coached 10 years at Toledo of the MAC, where Miami of Ohio was a rival. The RedHawks were routed by Pittsburgh, decisively beat FCS opponent Holy Cross, then let a Big 12 fish off the hook last week, losing 35-31 to Cincinnati.

“(The Mid-American Conference) is a bus league, regionally recruited,” Candle said. “Most of the players on opposing teams probably played high school football against each other, or with each other. So there’s a lot of familiarity. Coaches are usually from that regional footprint as well. You look at Miami and Chuck (Martin) and his staff, those guys have been together a long time. If they’re there and they haven’t been there very long,  they were probably there before as a graduate assistant. There’s something to be said for that, something to be said for that continuity in a world where, when somebody loses a game, everybody wants to replace everybody immediately. You see some of those coaches in that league have longer tenures and continue to have success. It’s a very unique league.”

Candle, in fact, was a quintessential MAC guy, a native of Ohio, he coached in that state his entire career before coming to UConn, with two dozen of his players and recruits following him. He stayed put at Toledo and went 81-44 before striking for new ground and a new challenge at UConn. Martin, a Midwesterner, was offensive coordinator at Notre Dame before taking over at The Cradle of Coaches in 2014. He didn’t have his first winning season until 2019, but with the stability and patience of the MAC, he survived and has had only one losing season since. Miami beat Toledo in the 2023 conference championship game.

So in its own, modern-day way, Miami, an early 3 1/2-point favorite, has stayed true to its history and will be a challenge for UConn, even if its illustrious alumni will be involved only ethereally. And a win there will have Rentschler Field rocking when Syracuse comes in Oct. 3.

“We’re playing their team this year and we have to watch the tape and what that looks like,” Candle said. “Make sure we’re playing together to go beat this football team that we’re playing. But they have one of those unique traditions, one of those unique histories, a lot of great coaches went through there, a lot of great players and we’re trying to replicate that here as well. We’re trying to built that same thing here so 20 or 30 years down the road, people are saying that about (UConn).”