Syracuse spent last October in freefall and UConn just handed its program to a coach who's never lost more than four games in a season — Saturday in East Hartford is the first real look at whether either fix actually works.
Bush’s Picks
SYRCONN
SYRCONN
OverUnder
Best BetSyracuse
Syracuse brings back a healthy Angeli and the most talented roster Fran Brown has fielded, and that talent gap is the biggest swing factor in a game where UConn is otherwise a total unknown. The Huskies' new coaching staff and quarterback haven't played a snap together yet, which is real value lost for a home team. Back Syracuse to win outright off the returning-QB edge alone.
Syracuse
+Steve Angeli healthy, says he's ready now
+Highest-ranked recruiting class in program history
+New DC Kehres targeting a fixable 120th-ranked defense
−Finished 2025 on an 8-game losing streak
−Defense was 120th nationally as recently as last year
−Backup QB depth is entirely new via the portal
UConn
+Candle went 81-44 in 11 seasons at Toledo
+Coming off back-to-back 9-win seasons
+Lost 3 games last year by a combined 13 points
−Wholesale roster and staff turnover, total unknown
−New starter Merklinger untested in this system
−Lost to this same Syracuse team by 7 last season
Syracuse was 3-1 and rolling last season before Steve Angeli went down with a torn Achilles against Clemson. The Orange lost their final 8 games without him and finished 3-9. Angeli says he's healthy now — "100% right now," he told reporters this offseason — and Fran Brown added three transfer quarterbacks as insurance so a single injury can't sink the season twice.
UConn isn't the same team either. Jim Mora bolted for Colorado State after back-to-back 9-win seasons, and the Huskies replaced him with Jason Candle, who went 81-44 in 11 years at Toledo. UConn was genuinely close to playoff relevance last year — the losses to Delaware, Rice and Syracuse were decided by a combined 13 points — but Candle's wholesale roster turnover makes this year's group hard to project.
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SYR Syracuse
CONN UConn
That's what makes this one interesting on Saturday, October 3. Analysts have flagged Syracuse as one of the tougher outs on UConn's home slate this fall, and it's an early gut check for both new-look rosters before conference play gets serious.
Syracuse Orange
Sep 17?@ Pittsburgh—
Sep 12?vs California—
Sep 5?vs New Hampshire—
UConn Huskies
Sep 25?@ Miami (OH)—
Sep 19?@ Southern Miss—
Sep 12?vs Maryland—
Sep 5?vs Lafayette—
Recent form.
Syracuse brought in the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history, headlined by five-star receiver Calvin Russell III, and hired Vince Kehres away from Toledo to fix a defense that finished 120th nationally in 2025. If that unit is actually better, Angeli and a deeper receiving room give the Orange a real ceiling. UConn's answer at quarterback is expected to be Jake Merklinger, the Tennessee transfer who's the preseason favorite to start — but he's operating in a brand-new system with almost no returning continuity around him.
Syracuse Orange
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
UConn Huskies
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Both programs are selling the same pitch: trust the process, the results will follow. Syracuse's collapse last fall says the roster hasn't been tested under a new defensive staff, and UConn's overhaul says the same about everyone else on the field. Whoever handles that uncertainty better in East Hartford probably wins this one.
