Jason Candle, UConn football team anticipate greater adversity as schedule toughens

From the weather to the final score, everything went the way of the UConn football team during its 56-7 demolition of Lafayette last Saturday, but the Huskies aren't naïve enough to expect that outcome each week.

During his Week 2 press conference Monday, first-year UConn head coach Jason Candle was grateful to get his first win with his new program under his belt.

He praised the gameday environment at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford and even described the playing surface as incredible.

With Maryland looming, however, Candle quickly changed his tune, noting that the competition is about to get much tougher.

He expects the Terrapins to be a strong challenge and provide the Huskies with something they didn't get in the opener.

"We haven't been through any adversity yet. That's the one thing that really stands out to me," Candle said. "What's going to happen and who are we when we get hit in the mouth? At some point in time throughout the course of the football season, that's going to happen."

This week, Candle expects UConn to focus on its practice details and habits to be ready to execute amid the chaos that Maryland, and future opponents, will bring to the field.

After Week 1's win over FCS Lafayette, Candle said the team has built some confidence and gotten through some first-time situations, ranging from practicing ahead of a game to staying at the hotel the night before a game.

"It's never real until you actually have to live it," he said.

On the field, the Huskies excelled, setting a program record with 671 total yards. Candle hopes the momentum can keep building moving forward.

"We were able to go out and have some success early in the game in all three phases and we should be able to build off some of the positives," Candle said. "Adversity is a great teacher, but so is success, right? You've just got to be smart enough and have enough humility to learn your lessons with both."

Candle explained that the football season is long and can take many paths, so it's important to come in every week with balanced emotions. He added that the responsibility for everyone is to continue improving.

"The minute we lose focus on that, we're probably losing the grip on who we want to be as people and certainly as a football team," Candle said.

Candle was most excited that dozens of players got to take the field last week, which builds repetition and communication.

He stressed that his team is not a final product; it should continue to evolve throughout the 12-game schedule.

"There's still potential to get better, and if there's not potential to get better, and there's not potential to grow and there's not potential for other guys to earn more opportunities, then we're just a finished product and sit here and play well the way we are for the next three months or sit here and die. It's what it is," Candle said.

UConn's new skipper added that he was proud of the cohesiveness displayed by his coaching staff last Saturday. He said the newly formed unit did fantastic.

"More importantly, the things that we didn't do a great job of on Saturday, we were able to sit in a room on Sunday and talk through and tell ourselves the truth," Candle said. "There's not an ego in here, where somebody isn't willing to go fix their mistakes for the greater good of the cause. If coaches can do that, if I can do that, then it's a much easier conversation with players."

UConn is next in action on Saturday at 3:30 vs. Maryland at Rentschler Field.

Keep an eye out for the official UConn – Maryland preview on FOX61.com this Thursday.

Dalton Zbierski is a digital editor and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com .

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