The University of Connecticut football program saw it's home schedule for the 2026 campaign revealed on Thursday afternoon, and it features several interesting matchups, including one contest against a College Football Playoff participant from 2025.

Here are the matchups, with the dates, that new head coach Jason Candle will face.

Sept 5: vs. Lafayette

Sept. 12: vs. Maryland

Oct. 3: vs. Syracuse

Oct. 24: vs. UMass

Nov. 7: vs. North Carolina

Nov. 14: vs. James Madison

Nov. 21: vs. Old Dominion

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'll 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.

The UConn women's basketball team is playing Thursday night against Georgetown, but the game on Sunday against Seton Hall has been moved to Saturday because of impending bad weather. Tip-off time is set for 12 p.m. ET.

Remember to join our UCONN on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Huskies fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!