Best Stretch of the 2025 Schedule for Jim Mora and the UConn Huskies to Surge

The UConn Huskies are coming off of just the third 9-win season in program history. It was a tough climb up from the second spell of the Randy Edsall era, but Jim Mora has the program pointed in the right direction.

Continuing that momentum into the 2025 season won’t be particularly easy, though the strength of schedule ranks just 124th in the nation. Still, difficult games against ACC foes Syracuse, Boston College, and Duke leave little room for error in the quest for another 9-win season.

However, leading into that Boston College game lies a four-game stretch where the Huskies can build some momentum into the second half of the season. Regardless of what happens on September 6 in Syracuse, the Huskies will follow up with trips to Delaware and Buffalo with a home matchup against Ball State sandwiched in and a date with FIU at home on the other side.

Delaware, of course, is making its leap to the FBS level this year. They’ll be looking to make some noise in their first season, with the Huskies being their first real chance to pick up a win at the FBS level. Still, they’ll likely be reeling from a trip to Boulder, Colorado.

Then there’s Ball State, one of the weaker teams in the MAC, if not the country. The Cardinals ranked 134th out of 136 teams in ESPN’s SP+ rankings in the spring, returning just 22% of their offensive production and 37% of their defensive production from last season.

Buffalo is a stronger team in that same conference, and a tough road matchup for sure. The Bulls will be coming in off an interesting matchup with Troy, which could mean momentum is backing them as well, early in the season. The Bulls likely pose the biggest threat of giving the Huskies a loss that would all but assure the team doesn’t get that elusive ninth win.

Finally, FIU travels up the coast to take on UConn, and the Panthers could be hurting by then. They face Penn State, Florida Atlantic, and Delaware in the lead-up to their date with the Huskies. A definite loss, a tough rivalry game, and a hungry Blue Hens team could have FIU facing a 1-3 record heading in.

It’s not a sure thing, but if the Huskies can come through this portion of their schedule 4-0, the program is at worst 5-1 or at best a surprising 6-0, depending again on what happens in Syracuse. Having such a strong record before shipping out to Boston can carry a heavy weight of momentum, especially as the Eagles nurse wounds from dates with Pittsburgh and Clemson in the two weeks prior.

UConn has to hit the ground running in 2025 and take the result in Syracuse in stride, win or lose. From there, they can build something special, especially if they take advantage of one of the weaker points in their schedule. Doing so could mean the first consecutive 9-win seasons in program history.