Syracuse’s trip to UConn on Saturday comes with more than a standard nonconference feel. After a 15-day bye, the Orange will be back on the field against a Huskies team that has already made one thing clear this season: this game carries some familiar faces on both sidelines.
The biggest one is Nunzio Campanile. The former Syracuse offensive assistant is now UConn’s offensive coordinator, and that connection could matter when the teams kick off at noon ET in East Hartford, Conn.
Campanile’s coaching path has taken him from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., to Bergen Catholic High School, then to Rutgers from 2018-22. He joined Syracuse in 2023, was elevated to interim head coach after Dino Babers was fired later that season, and then remained on staff when Fran Brown was hired weeks later.
That is unusual in college football, but Campanile stayed through Brown’s first two seasons. The 49 year-old Campanile also helped develop current NFL quarterback Kyle McCord, who led Syracuse to a double-digit win season and bowl victory in 2024.
Now he’s in his first year on Jason Candle’s staff at UConn, and his presence adds a layer to a game that already features some overlap between the programs.
That matters because Campanile has worked with projected Syracuse starter Steve Angeli. If there’s a chess match here, UConn has a coach who may know Angeli’s strengths, his weaknesses, the looks he prefers, and the coverages that can give him trouble. That’s no small thing considering Angeli has had a rough start to the season and was benched for backup Amari Odom in Syracuse’s most recent game.
The Orange and Huskies don’t see each other all that often, but they’ve crossed paths enough to build a real series history. They’ve played 14 times in the 2000s, with Syracuse holding an 8-6 edge. The Orange also beat UConn 27-20 last season at the JMA Wireless Dome.
There’s another staff connection worth watching, too. Syracuse defensive coordinator Vince Kehres previously held the same job at Toledo, where Jason Candle was the head coach. So both sides enter Saturday with coaches who know the other sideline’s tendencies and habits.
UConn is coming off a 24-21 loss to Miami (Ohio) last Saturday, while Syracuse sits at 1-2 heading into its return from the bye.
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