Kickoff: Saturday, September 5 at 11:00 AM CT
Location: Pratt & Whitney Stadium
TV: TV TBD
DraftKings line (Aug. 30): CONN -19.5
Over/under: 58.5

The setup

Jason Candle’s first game at UConn comes with UConn as the 19.5-point favorite. The result matters, but so does whether the new identity is visible immediately. Lafayette has lost 7 straight season openers.

What I’m watching

The thing to watch is how quickly UConn’s rebuilt offense settles in. UConn averaged 35.3 points per game last season and returns just one offensive starter. Lafayette allowed 28.8 points per game. Lafayette does not need to match the home team’s depth; it needs to force a few early punts and keep the number of possessions down.

Personnel snapshot

• Lafayette: John Troxell enters Year 5 as head coach.
• Lafayette quarterback: Jason Penza is Lafayette’s most experienced returning passer. He had no meaningful passing sample in 2025.
• UConn: Jason Candle enters Year 1 as head coach. 1 starter returns—1 on offense and 0 on defense. A key offensive lineman back is Ty Chan. That offense averaged 445.2 yards and 35.3 points per game last season.
• UConn quarterback: Jake Merklinger is projected to start for UConn. Last season at Tennessee, he threw for 173 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT.

How the game is decided

UConn’s first job is avoiding three-and-outs while the new offensive pieces settle in. Lafayette must turn every early stop into field position or points; empty possessions will eventually let the home team’s size and depth take over.

Prediction

I make my final predictions on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook at @uthinkuknowsports.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.