By Jack Kutz

JMU football bounced back in a huge 54-23 win against Southern Mississippi last week. After three straight Thursday night games, JMU (8-2, 5-2 Sun Belt) heads up to East Hartford for a battle against UConn on Saturday.

How to watch

TV: CBS Sports Network

Kickoff time: Noon ET

Location: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field

Weather: 42 degrees at kickoff, with temperatures sticking in the low to mid 40s

UConn overview

Record: 4-5. As an independent, the Huskies have played lower-tier P4 schools such as Syracuse, Maryland, and UNC — all of which they lost to — as well as G6 schools like UMass, Temple, and Southern Miss. The only common opponent the Dukes and Huskies have is Southern Miss. Both schools won by more than 28.

Coaching staff

Jason Candle, Head Coach: Candle is a first-year head coach for the Huskies. He was the head coach of Toledo for nearly a decade where he accumulated an 81-44 record, two MAC Championships, and had 10 players picked in the NFL draft. Similar to Billy Napier, Candle is leading a roster full of 65 new players after UConn’s old coach, Jim Mora, left for Colorado State. He brought in some of his top Toledo talent.

Nunzio Campanile, Offensive Coordinator: The offensive coordinator has coached at the high school and college levels across the northeast. Campanile spent time at two New Jersey high schools in an offensive coordinator and head coach role from 2000-2017. In 2018, he was hired as the running backs coach at Rutgers and in 2019 spent time as the interim head coach. In 2023, Syracuse hired Campanile as a position coach. Jason Candle hired Campanile to be his offensive coordinator at UConn for the 2026 season. Campanile’s offense is averaging nearly 33 points per game behind a strong passing game.

Ryan Manalac, Defensive Coordinator: Manalac is a former NFL linebacker who has coached since 2011. He coached at the DII, FCS, and FBS levels. After a successful two seasons as Bucknell’s defensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020, he became the linebackers coach at Pittsburgh from 2021 through 2025. In that role, Manalac helped guide linebacker Kyle Louis to one of the most versatile defensive campaigns of the year. Louis earned First-Team All-American honors as a sophomore. This season, Manalac’s defense is giving up 26.7 points per game.

Key players

Kalieb Osborne, QB: The third-year quarterback followed Jason Candle in the transfer portal from Toledo. Osborne is having a solid season in East Hartford as a full-time starter. In nine games, he has thrown for 2,102 yards and 16 touchdowns. He has limited turnovers by only throwing four interceptions all season. Osborne is no slouch in the run game either, he has seven rushing touchdowns.

Cyncir Bowers, RB: The West Virginia transfer has made an immediate impact. The third-year player  is averaging 6.6 yards per rush. He has 639 yards on less than 100 carries with eight touchdowns on his season. At 5 ‘9 195, the former JUCO product has big-play abilities.

Ryder Treadway, WR: Another Toledo transfer, Treadway is UConn’s leading receiver on the year. With 24 receptions, 346 yards, two touchdowns, and his 6’3 frame, the second-year player is the biggest threat to JMU’s secondary.

K’Von Sherman, LB: The fourth-year Toledo transfer is leading the Huskies in sacks (3.5) and is second on the team in tackles (65). Sherman has also racked up three forced fumbles. The 6-foot-3 and 240-pound linebacker might be one of the best that the Dukes will see all season.

John Lista, LB: After four seasons at Penn, the fifth-year player has proven to be a great asset at the FBS level. With 68 tackles, five PBU’s, and a sack, Lista has been fantastic.

Joshua Mickens, DE: The fourth-year Ohio State transfer has been the top pass rusher for the Huskies this season. He has racked up three sacks, three pass deflections, and 20 total tackles in his first year as a starter in college.

Jayden Price, DB: At 6’4, he’s another Toledo transfer who has been solid this season. With an interception, two pass deflections, and 35 tackles, expect Price to be all over the field on Saturday.

Keys to victory

Win on special teams

Last week, the Dukes played their first good special team games in a few weeks. Punting, kicking, and returning were all net positives for Rob Wenger’s unit. This week it is imperative that the Dukes play their best on special teams. Mikey Scott returns, Morgan Suarez kicks, and Patrick Rea punts will play a big factor for the Dukes. UConn is just 4-for-8 on field goals this season, so the Dukes can have an edge here.

Play disciplined

It has felt like the same story all season, with undisciplined play from all three units. Last week, despite the win, featured two or three plays that simply shouldn’t have happened. Roughing the passers, pass interferences, and unnecessary roughness calls are becoming far too common for the Dukes. If they don’t stop, expect another tight game at best.

JMU ranks 130th nationally with over 76 penalty yards per game. On the positive side, UConn is highly penalized, too. The Huskies are averaging more than 70 penalty yards per game, ranking 124th alongside Bob Chesney’s UCLA Bruins.

Play through JC Evans on offense

As we saw last week, quarterback JC Evans is the real deal. He can sling it, he can evade pressure, he can run, and he can elevate his team. For JMU to continue building momentum, it must play to JC’s strengths. That can be done by getting him moving on the ground with designed runs and getting receivers open with good concepts. 

Score prediction

Technically, this game has no long-term implications for JMU. It isn’t making the College Football Playoff and an out-of-conference game doesn’t mean a ton in November. However, if Billy Napier wants to continue to build up his program in Harrisonburg, this game is important. The spread is a little more than a field goal in JMU’s favor, and I believe that is accurate. The Dukes are playing a very solid football team, but they are more solid.

JMU 38, UConn 31

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications