While all the focus right now is on the University of Connecticut men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the school's hockey success, spring football is also going on for first-year head coach Jason Candle.

Candle, who was the previous head coach at Toledo, has taken over for Jim Mora, who led the Huskies to a 9-4 record in 2025 before departing for Colorado State. Candle enters Storrs with an excellent reputation from his time at Toledo and he'll have a chance to show it off as he works to rebuild the roster in the wake of the graduations of star quarterback Joe Fagnano and star receiver Skyler Bell. He is expected to be taken in next month's NFL Draft - potentially high up. 

Once the basketball and hockey seasons end, the attention can start to fully shift back to the excitement of football season, but if you're already in the mood for football, Huskies season tickets did go on sale on Friday.

Not to be confused with Louisiana-Lafeyette, the Leopards play an FCS schedule. They were solid in 2025, going 8-4 with a 6-1 conference record. Their only losses were against FBS Bowling Green (26-7), Princeton (38-28), FBS Oregon State (45-13) and Lehigh (42-32).

Getting a Big Ten program to come to Storrs is a big deal, even though the Terrapins struggled in 2025. They went just 4-8 and 1-8 inside the conference. The only Big Ten win was against Wisconsin, but they played close with Washington (24-20), Nebraska (34-31), UCLA (20-17) and Michigan State (38-28).

The Orange went just 3-9 in 2025, but they did beat UConn in overtime, handing the Huskies one of their four losses. The Orange lost eight straight after starting quarterback Steve Angeli got hurt, but with him back in the fold for 2026, things are looking up for Fran Brown's team.

One of the worst teams in the nation in 2025, the Minutemen went 0-12. Another FCS program, they suffered a one-point loss (27-26) against Bryant and a seven-point loss (28-21) against Buffalo. Otherwise, they were beaten by 18 points or more in every game.

Run by future Hall of Famer Bill Belichick, the Tar Heels became a national story line - and a punch line - in 2025. They finished just 4-8 and 2-6 inside ACC play, but they still figure to be a solid opponent for the Huskies given their major conference status.

One of the best stories of the 2025 college football season, the Dukes went 12-2 and advanced to the College Football Playoff, where they lost 51-34 against Oregon. They have a new coach in 2026, but this is one of the strongest small school programs in the nation, so they should also be a competitive group for Candle's team.

The Monarchs went 10-3 in 2025, only losing 27-14 against national champion Indiana in their opener. They also beat Virginia Tech (45-26) of the ACC and they took down South Florida (24-10) in a bowl game.

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