Get to know the UConn Huskies: Syracuse football’s week two opponent in 2025 season

Despite no longer playing in the same conference, Syracuse football playing the UConn Huskies has become a regular occurrence in recent years. The Huskies are once again on Syracuse’s schedule for an early-season matchup. Let’s learn a little more about what Cuse fans can expect from the Huskies when our paths cross this season.

UConn’s head coach: Jim Mora Jr.

Mora, whose father is best known for his “playoffs?” rant, has been around the block a little bit in both the NFL and college. He spent three seasons as head coach of the Falcons, reaching the NFC Championship Game in his first season. Later, Mora had one bad season with the Seahawks, giving him a career record of 31-33 in the NFL.

Since 2012, he’s been a college coach. For six seasons, Mora was the head coach at UCLA. He took the Bruins to a bowl game in each of his first four seasons, even leading UCLA to back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2013 and 2014. But two bad seasons were enough to fire him in 2017. Mora eventually landed on his feet in Connecticut and has been the head coach of the Huskies since 2022. Despite going 18-20 during that span, he’s taken the Huskies to bowl games in two of his first three seasons at the helm.

Last meeting with Syracuse: Syracuse 31, UConn 24 (2024)

The Huskies came to the Dome last November for the penultimate regular-season game. It was not the one-sided affair that some anticipated, as the Huskies didn’t make it easy on the Orange. While Syracuse never trailed, UConn fought hard for 60 minutes, although 470 passing yards from Kyle McCord was too much for the Huskies to overcome.

Series history

Last year’s win was the Orange’s fifth in a row against the Huskies. Under Dino Babers, Syracuse was 3-0 against UConn, including a 51-21 thrashing in the Dome in 2018 and a convincing 48-14 victory in East Hartford early in the 7-6 campaign in 2022. By winning last season, the Orange took a 7-6 lead in the all-time series. If you’re splitting hairs, Syracuse's wins in 2004 and 2006 are vacated. But since that’s not a thing, the Orange now has more head-to-head wins over the Huskies despite UConn’s five-game winning streak from 2007 to 2011. For fans of this rivalry, UConn and Syracuse have extended their series, with planned meetings in 2027 and 2028.

UConn’s 2024 season

On paper, the Huskies should be proud of their 9-4 record in 2024, including a 27-14 win over North Carolina in the Fenway Bowl. However, that was UConn’s only impressive win of the season. Buffalo was the only other bowl-eligible team the Huskies beat last season. UConn’s other wins came against FCS foe Merrimack, Florida Atlantic (3-9), Temple (3-9), Rice (4-8), Georgia State (3-9), UAB (3-9), and UMass (2-10). Even with close losses to Duke, Wake Forest, and Syracuse, it’s hard to be too impressed with UConn’s season, even if the Huskies finished with a good record and were impressive against UNC.

UConn’s key returning players

The Huskies will be more than pleased to have Joe Fagano back at quarterback in 2025. This will be Fagano’s seventh year of college football, as he spent four years at Maine before transferring to UConn in 2023. With two season-ending injuries (and the COVID season) along the way, Fagano is back for his seventh season, having thrown 20 touchdown passes to just four interceptions for UConn last season.

Leading rusher Cam Edwards is back, as is Mel Brown, who had the second-most carries for the Huskies last season. UConn’s leading receiver in 2024, Skyler Bell, also returns in 2025, giving Fagano plenty of familiar faces around him. The UConn secondary also returns three key players with corners Cam Chadwick and D’Mon Brinson, as well as safety Malachi Mclean. But other than that, the Huskies don’t have a lot of key players on defense returning in 2025.

UConn’s notable additions

Mora and the Huskies were busy in the transfer portal during the offseason, adding nearly two dozen new players via that route. On offense, UConn is hoping that Arizona transfer Reymello Murphy and Auburn transfer Caleb Burton can make an immediate impact at wide receiver, giving the Huskies the type of perimeter threats they’ve been lacking in recent years.

Meanwhile, there could be a dozen or more transfers on UConn’s two-deep on the defensive side of the ball. At linebacker, Kansas State transfer Terry Kirksey Jr., Temple transfer Tyquan King, and Washington transfer Bryun Parham will look to fill an obvious need for the Huskies. In the secondary, UConn upgraded talent-wise with former Penn State safety Tyrece Mills and former Mississippi State safety Kobi Albert.

UConn’s 2025 season outlook

With an experienced quarterback, the UConn offense can expect to be much improved in 2025. The Huskies added some talent at wide receiver but also bring back an experienced backfield, so there is a better collection of playmakers around Fagano than he had last season. Of course, the defense has less certainty with so many incoming transfers. While UConn added power-conference talent, most of the team’s transfers remain largely unproven and transferred to the Huskies in search of more playing time.

In any event, the expectation is that UConn can get to a bowl game for a third straight season. UConn’s schedule as an independent isn’t exactly daunting, as early-season games with Central Connecticut, Delaware, and Ball State could help the Huskies get off to a fast start. Outside of Syracuse, Boston College, and Duke, no opponent looks that intimidating, which should put the Huskies in a position to collect at least seven or eight wins in 2025.

When and where UConn plays Syracuse in 2025

The Orange and Huskies will play their 14th all-time meeting on Saturday, September 6, at the JMA Wireless Dome. It’s scheduled as a noon game.

Prediction: Syracuse 31, UConn 13

The Huskies might be better in some spots compared to last season, but it could take them time to gel, so they won’t give Syracuse as much of a fight in September as they did last November. While Fagano has experience, he’s not an elite talent at quarterback. Meanwhile, the UConn defensive front could be pushed around by the size Syracuse has added along the offensive line this offseason, allowing the Orange to beat UConn a little more comfortably than last season.