EAST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – SEPTEMBER 5: Head coach Jason Candle of the UConn Huskies gives instruction to his players against the Lafayette Leopards in the first quarter at Rentschler Field on September 5, 2026 in East Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Sean D. Elliot/Getty Images)
Sean D. Elliot/Getty Images
STORRS — UConn football coach Jason Candle framed Saturday’s game against Syracuse as a “critical task and a really tough test,” because the Huskies have reached that point of their season when they can no longer follow each step forward with one or two backward.
“You are starting to approach October here, and all across the country in college football this is the month that separates everybody, contenders vs. pretenders,” Candle said earlier in the week. “We need consistent improvement here in our building to take care of us and then ultimately get ready for another opponent.”
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The opponent Saturday is the closest thing the Huskies have to a Northeast rival as Syracuse visits Rentschler Field riding a six-game win streak in the series, but the last two wins have been decided by only a touchdown and were played in Syracuse.
Last year, a meltdown by the UConn defense allowed the Orange to score two fourth-quarter touchdowns and one in overtime to rally for a 27-20 win. Syracuse coach Fran Brown was so angry with his team for what he considered a lackluster performance that he made his players run sprints on the field after the game.
If the Huskies want to be considered contenders – even if that is only for another nine-win season or a third consecutive bowl berth with no conference title available – they need a win over Power Four conference opponent like Syracuse.
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That became critical not just because the calendar has turned to October, but because last week at Miami of Ohio the Huskies squandered a 14-0 lead by compounding youthful mistakes.
First-year UConn football head coach Jason Candle, center, talks with his players during the Huskies’ 56-7 victory over Lafayette on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.
Courtesy of UConn Athletics
“We didn’t recover from mistakes,” Candle said. “We let one bad play carryover into two. When a mistake happened, the event still bothered us. We carried that too much. We have to be able to let go. We have to be able to get rid of it.
“When you are not there – no matter how talented you think you might be – those things can’t show up in those types of games, because the margins are very, very small. It is one thing to talk about it. It is another thing to do it.”
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The Huskies have done some good things, but their inexperience has shown in inconsistent play and their inability to put mistakes behind them quickly.
Candle said that even in last week’s disappointing 24-21 loss to Miami he saw progress in some places. The Huskies’ 255 yards of offense in the first half was encouraging. Linebacker Hayden Pegg had another strong game with a team-high eight tackles. Tight end Matt Ragan made his season debut and tied Javon Brown for a team-best four catches.
“Am I seeing improvement? Absolutely,” Candle said. “We have to understand that whether it is good or whether it is the worst day of my life, there is some learning to be done. We have to stay in the moment and play the next play. You have plenty of opportunities to impact the game if it didn’t go your way.”
UConn’s promising young quarterback Kalieb Osborne needs a do-over after last game. He started the Miami game 4-for-6 for 62 yards passing with 50 yards rushing. He threw for one score (7 yards) and ran for another (38 yards) in the first 15 minutes.
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However, he started the second quarter with a fumble followed by five incompletions in his first five throws.
He finished the game 17 for 32 for 215 yards passing as well as with a game-high 84 yards rushing, but he looked out of sorts much of the final three quarters.
The team realizes he is still going through growing pains, because prior to this season he had only one start last season at Toledo, where he played for Candle.
UConn linebackers John Lista (44) and K’Von Sherman, two of the Huskies’ team captains, communicate with each other after a play during the season opener against Lafayette.
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Linebacker K’Von Sherman said Osborne is plenty talented and just needs more experience to keep improving.
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“He sees the tape,” Sherman said. “He knows the mistakes he made and that he has to get better. I’m pretty sure he takes full accountability for everything that happened on Saturday.
“I believe in Kalieb. He’s a great player, but things happen, and you have to learn. As long as you keep learning and not putting the same mistakes on tape twice, he will be fine.”
Sherman expects the whole team to play a cleaner, more consistent game at home Saturday against Syracuse.
He is counting on a lot of energy and focus like the team showed two weeks ago in an impressive road win over Southern Miss.
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A win over a Syracuse team that boasts the biggest offensive line in the country and a defense led by former Toledo defensive coordinator Vince Kehres, who knows Candle’s offense very well, could fix a lot of things and change the team’s mood.
“I don’t like losing,” Sherman said. “I didn’t come to Connecticut to lose. So, I am doing what I can do to put us in the best position to win. I still have a sick taste in mouth from last week. I’m sick right now, so I need a win. We need a win. That is what we need to do.”