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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's history against Miami

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.

UConn in 2026

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.

First Road Win ✅ pic.twitter.com/kuuJqGXsuh

— UConn Football (@UConnFootball) September 20, 2026

Miami in 2026

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.

How to watch UConn at Miami
(Ohio)

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

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