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 from 2016-25, 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.

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.

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.

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 97.9 FM (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