UConn opens the Jason Candle era on Saturday with a home date against Lafayette, and there’s no shortage of new faces to sort through before the first snap.
The Huskies and Leopards meet at noon ET on Sept. 5, 2026 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, with WFSB carrying the game on TV and the UConn Sports Network handling radio. UConn enters as a 19.5-point favorite, with the over/under listed between 52 and 56.
This is only the second all-time meeting between the programs. Lafayette won the first one back in 1984.
What makes this opener especially interesting for UConn is how much has changed. There are 87 new players on the roster, a massive reset even for a program going through a coaching change. Candle takes over after his predecessor had stopped recruiting underclassmen, and the result is a team with a brand-new look across the depth chart.
That means the first priority isn’t just winning. It’s finding out how the pieces fit.
The quarterback spot is new, the offensive line is new, and just about everyone expected to contribute on the two-deep is new as well. Against an FCS opponent, UConn should be expected to handle its business. But the bigger question is how cleanly it can do it while installing Candle’s offense and Ryan Manalac’s defense.
Manalac’s side of the ball should look like some version of the 4-2-5 “press quarters” system associated with mentor Pat Narduzzi, while Candle’s offense will get its first real run in game action. Kalieb Osborne is the player everyone will be watching for the first time, especially in terms of what he can do with protection and playmakers around him. UConn also leaned hard into speed at wide receiver and running back, and this is the kind of game where that should show up in the form of explosive plays.
The line play will tell another big part of the story.
Under Jim Mora, UConn’s offensive line was a strength almost from the moment he arrived, and Candle’s staff will want that standard to continue. The Huskies have a rebuilt group up front, but there is size and upside there, even if the unit is still more unproven than proven. Ty Chan is the lone returning starter on the offensive line, while Matt Hoffman returns as a senior on the defensive line rotation.
That defensive front is one of the more experienced groups on the roster and is expected to be a strength, along with the linebackers. After Saturday, UConn should have a much clearer read on how well both lines can control games this season.
A few numbers frame the matchup nicely. Candle enters with 81 career wins, and he was the winningest coach in Toledo history.
UConn has beaten 22 FCS opponents since moving up to 1-A in 2002, with losses only to Towson and Holy Cross. Last year, the Huskies scored 59 points in their FCS opener against CCSU, one year after putting up 63 against Merrimack and matching the program scoring record.
Saturday is also the 23rd season of Husky football at Rentschler Field, and UConn has won 14 season openers in its FBS era, with nine losses.
Lafayette was supposed to start its season at Georgetown last week, but that game was canceled because of lightning. So both teams arrive with some uncertainty, though UConn’s challenge is far more about sorting out its own overhaul than worrying about the opponent.
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Jason Candles first UConn team is already taking shape in the broadest sense, even if the details are still coming into focus. The Huskies open against Lafayette with a new head coach, a remodeled roster and the usual questions that come with a reset, and Candle has spent camp stressing preparation and a week-by-week approach rather than drawing a hard line around what the season must become.
One of the biggest unresolved items is the quarterback job, a choice that will help define how quickly this new era can settle in. Candle has also pointed to the defensive front as a camp strength while seeing enough from the running backs to know there are pieces to build around, but UConn is still waiting on the answer that matters most under center before the opener arrives. [Read more 🡒]
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UConn could hardly have scripted a sharper start to the season, rolling past Lafayette in a 56-7 opener that gave the program an immediate jolt of confidence. The Huskies were efficient, explosive and balanced from the jump, with Kalieb Osborne drawing a strong review from Pro Football Focus and a defense that helped keep the Leopards from ever finding much traction.
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