After spending over a decade in the red, the UConn Huskies have established new ground these past couple of years, coming into 2026 off of consecutive nine-win seasons.
The recent momentum has seen them compete against—and even beat—multiple Power 4 opponents, with perhaps their brightest shine coming from a win over the 2025 Duke Blue Devils, who would then, albeit controversially, go on to become the defending ACC Champions.
Such feats of strength will not only have you remembering the UConn of yesterday, but also questioning how much more the UConn of today can give us, as even when head coach Jim Mora is being succeeded by a legend like Toledo's Jason Candle, there's always the chance of some adaptational adversity, right?
Actually, I'm not so sure this time around, because if their schedule is any implication, no change in leadership could lessen the mayhem these modern-day Huskies have the potential of causing.
UConn's 2026 slate is the perfect guide through a coaching change
Let’s kick things off by scribbling out those that will surely be heavy underdogs (Lafayette, Temple, UMass, Air Force and Wyoming), as there are enough of them to have UConn already knocking on the door of another bowl berth.
Next up would be what I’ll call “no man’s land,” as the foes in this category fail to lean heavily in favor of being either wins or losses. It consists of Southern Mississippi, Miami (OH), James Madison and Old Dominion. While a tough bunch, only one of those squads did significantly better than the Huskies last year (JMU), but even it will be having to travel to Connecticut under a new coach of its own.
Last and obviously not least, we have the Power 4 opps, as they are almost never an easy ride due to talent gap alone. The trio UConn has in its way is rather relenting though, as all three (Maryland, Syracuse and North Carolina) finished 2025 with a record of 4-8 or worse, and will also be challenging the Huskies on the road. That’s quite encouraging for a team that literally just went positive against the Power 4.
Long story short, its ceiling may be debatable, but is the vision there for UConn to continue as one of college football’s top up-n-comers in 2026, and get whatever attention it’s still lacking in the process? Beyond the shadow of a doubt, yes.