“Best of” lists always stir debate, and the latest look at the top college football coaches in the FBS division of the NCAA is sure to bring mixed reactions.

The Sporting News published its rankings this week of the 138 coaches in the FBS, and there probably is no surprise among the top three: Curt Cignetti of national champion Indiana, followed by College Football Playoff-winning coaches Kirby Smart of Georgia and Ryan Day of Ohio State.

But in this part of the country, fans are more likely to ask this question: Where does new UConn head coach Jason Candle rank? And how does he compare to his predecessor?

Before discussing Candle’s ranking, let’s look at former head coach Jim Mora.

Hired at UConn before the 2022 season, Mora brought his power-conference credentials and NFL swagger to Storrs, Conn., and turned the program around. He inherited a program that had a record of 10-50 from 2016-21 – no games were played in 2020 due to the pandemic – and turned it around.

In four seasons, Mora led the Huskies to a 27-24 record and three bowl berths – their first since 2015.

UConn faithful expressed disappointment on social media when Mora announced in December that he’d accepted the head coaching job at Colorado State.     

The Rams’ job was attractive to Mora primarily because the program is joining the rebuilt Pac 12, putting him back in a conference, and because he lived most of his life in the western half of the country.

But does experience as a head coach in the NFL and at power-conference school UCLA make Mora a better head coach than Candle, hired in January to succeed him?

Not necessarily.

The Sporting News gave Mora the No. 75 spot on the list. That put him third among coaches in the eight-team Pac-12, trailing only Spencer Danielson (No. 39) from Boise State and Fresno State’s Matt Entz (No. 74).

But Candle lives in the same ranking neighborhood as Mora, placing No. 71. That seems to be a toss-up, more or less.

At No. 70 was Jamey Chadwell (Liberty), followed by Candle, Jeff Monken (Army), Entz and Mora.

Candle is a heck of a recruiter who is bringing talent to Storrs.

Prior to his arrival at UConn, Candle was the head coach for 10 full seasons at mid-major Toledo of the Mid-American Conference.  His teams were 81-44 and played in seven bowl games. 

 As of June 2024, 36 players who were coached by Candle as either a head coach or assistant coach have played pro football. The Philadelphia Eagles made cornerback Quinyon Mitchell the first Toledo player to be selected in the first round of the draft in 31 years in 2024.

UConn is starting to see up close what Candle brings. The Class of 2027 – six months ahead of the early signing period – already has 15 players committed, with more expected as official visit weekends continue.

We are 83 days away from the official start of the Jason Candle era, when UConn hosts Lafayette in the season opener on Sept. 5.

The season gets much tougher from there, with three power-conference teams and two that played in the College Football Playoff last season on the schedule.

It will be interesting to see where both Candle and Mora rank on the list this time next year.

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