NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

The UConn Huskies football team
and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles face off Saturday (7 p.m. ET) in the
first-ever meeting between the teams, both led by coaches in the first season
with their program.

But when UConn’s
Jason Candle and Blake Anderson of Southern Miss meet in Hattiesburg, Miss., in the Huskies' first road game of the season, they will be renewing acquaintances.

While at Toledo,
where Candle spent 10 seasons as head coach after serving as an assistant, the
Rockets defeated Anderson’s former Arkansas State program three times,
including in the 2015 GoDaddy.com Bowl.

But when he was
the head coach at Utah State, Anderson’s team beat UConn in back-to-back
seasons in 2022 and ’23.

Something’s gotta
give on Saturday.

GAME. DAY. #CTFootball
🆚 Southern Miss
📍 Hattiesburg, MS
⏰ 7 PM EST
📺 ESPN+#BleedBluepic.twitter.com/TSDlykiNPP

— Storrs Central (@StorrsCentral) September 19, 2026

Similarities
between UConn, Southern Miss

Candle and
Anderson have had nearly identical starts to their seasons: 1-1 records
achieved in a laugher in the opener against an FCS team, a Week 2 loss to a
Power Four program that exposed some weaknesses.

UConn defeated
Lafayette 56-7 and lost to Maryland 38-14, both games at home. Southern Miss handled
Alcorn State 49-3 in Hattiesburg in Week 1, then lost at Auburn, 43-8.

Both teams are starting
from scratch, with new coaches and an influx of new players – 87 for UConn, 74
for Southern Miss. The Huskies return one starter from the 2025 team; Southern
Miss has two.

What the coaches
said

Both coaches, in
their news conferences earlier this week, spoke of the other and their shared
experiences. Here's what they had to say.

Candle: “Coach
Anderson, Southern Miss. I mean, very familiar there. Played them a couple
times when he was at Arkansas State. … We’ve got some familiarity with guys
there and they've done a good job in dealing with some of the issues that, you
know, having a program for the first year that we're going through as well.

“So, I know
it'll be a stiff challenge. They'll play really, really hard. And we got to go
handle a road environment that I think will be a good one.”

Anderson: “I
know their head coach and have played against him and watched what he did at
Toledo, and Jason's a phenomenal ball coach. They’ve built, I think, a really,
really good roster. …

“They're well
coached. They're playing extremely hard. He's always had sound football teams.
Not a lot of crazy mistakes. You know, you got to earn it. You got to beat
them. I love that they got to come to us. Don't want to make that trip this
week.”

UConn and the
Sun Belt Conference

UConn has done
battle against a team from the Sun Belt Conference – Southern Miss is a member –
four times since the 2022 season and has a 1-3 record.

This is the
first of three games for the Huskies against conference opponents this season.
Still to come: James Madison (Nov. 14) and Old Dominion (Nov. 21), with both visiting
Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. 

Team leaders

Offense

Passing
UConn: Kalieb Osborne,29-of-47 passing (61.7%), 421 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception

Southern Miss: Ethan Hampton,
31-of-50 (62%), 326 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INT

Rushing
UConn: Osborne, 21
carries, 120 yards, 2 TDs; Trey Cornist, 12 for 84, TD

Southern Miss: Steven Robinson,
38 for 174, 3 TDs; Jamarice Wilder, 17 for 101, 2 TDs 

Receiving
UConn: Javon Brown, 6
receptions for 92 yards, TD; JD Willoughby, 4 for 76, TD; Shamar Porter, 4 for
73, TD

Southern Miss: Mario Sanders, 9
for 152, 1 TD; AJ Little, 7 for 65, no TD

Defense
UConn: Zion Paret, 15
tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 1 pass breakup; K’Von Sherman, 14 tackles, 3
tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble; John Lista, 12 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss,
1 sack

Southern Miss: Laquan
Robinson, 17 tackles, 1 pass breakup; Mathis Haygood, 15 tackles, 2 tackles for
loss, 0.5 sacks; Michael Robinson III, 9 tackles, 1 forced fumble

How to watch UConn
at Southern Miss

Game time: Saturday, 7 p.m. ET

Television: ESPN+. Jason
Baker will be on the play-by-play call, with Larry Boyd as the analyst.

Radio: FOX Sports 97.9
FM (Hartford) is the flagship station for UConn football. Adam Giardino will
handle the play-by-play, with analyst Wayne Norman and sideline reporter Michael
Johns also on the call.

The game is
available on SiriusXM 266 and on the app at SiriusXM 975.

Online: The Varsity
Network app

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos