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Mora's Gone, We Move On
UConn football looking for a new coach. Basketball heating up. Women's hockey wins four in a row.
Aman Kidwai
December 02, 2025
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Headlines
Mora leaves for Colorado State
As UConn football fans fell asleep last Tuesday night, they surely could not have imagined they’d wake up to a football coaching vacancy — it was pretty early in the cycle!
At around 12:30 a.m. on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, ESPN’s Pete Thamel tweeted that Mora would be leaving for Colorado State.
The first reaction was, “Really? Colorado State?”
We had surely made peace with the possibility that he’d be in the market for an upgrade, especially after taking the Husky program to new heights, but was CSU really a better opportunity?
Mora’s west coast roots and interest in a more defined path to the College Football Playoffs likely played a greater role than the overall prestige of the program, or even compensation, as his contract with the Rams appears to have only a modest increase.
Ultimately, Husky fans have to be thrilled about the overall story of the last four years, which saw three bowls, two wins over Boston College, an upset over Duke, a Biletnikoff finalist, one of the leading passers in the nation, their first back-to-back nine-win seasons, and a chance at winning 10 for the first time as an FBS program.
Mora had been linked to openings at Oregon State and Stanford, but instead has ended up at another long-struggling program. The Rams are 2-9 this season after an 8-5 campaign in the previous year. Before 2024, they hadn’t won more than five games since 2017.
Offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis will take over as the interim HC and lead UConn into its bowl game, per AD David Benedict, who also shared that we’ll find out the bowl invite on December 7th.
Ultimately, UConn is in a much better place to hire a football coach than it was the last time it was looking.
The school has institutional alignment and support from key decision-makers, like the university president and local politicians, as well as the fans and NIL supporters. UConn’s ability to be competitive among the G5 in NIL is also part of the reason why the last two years have been successful. Even Mora has acknowledged this, as he said after the BC game. That part stays at UConn.
Husky fans should, for the first time in over a decade, feel confident about the program’s ability to withstand a coaching transition. In the NIL/portal era, the coach plays a smaller role in the formula for success.
UConn leadership needs to answer questions around the long-term home of the program. But for now, the people who made this success possible have earned a chance to try to keep it going, and the benefit of the doubt if the eventual hire isn’t some slam-dunk candidate. Mora certainly wasn’t in 2021.
MBB Whops No. 13 Illinois at MSG
UConn delivered a vintage 2024 performance on Friday at Madison Square Garden, as top-line talent built up a lead and depth helped them keep their foot on the gas in a relatively comfortable victory over a highly-ranked opponent. The defensive effort was excellent as well.
Malachi Smith stepped up off the bench for 14 points and a team-high nine assists, while Alex Karaban delivered 12 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, and Solo Ball led the way with 15 points.
Tarris Reed Jr. and Braylon Mullins both made their returns from injury, but both were on a minutes restriction. After leading UConn in scoring against Arizona and Bryant, Eric Reibe finished with eight points and seven rebounds against Illinois. He’s been one of the highlights of the team through this early stretch.
The Huskies head to Kansas for a big matchup with the Jayhawks on Tuesday night. The game will tip off at 9 p.m. from Phog Allen Fieldhouse, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
Bell named Biletnikoff Award finalist
The redshirt senior wide receiver joins USC’s Makai Lemon and Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith as the three finalists for the Bietnikoff Award, denoting the best wideout in Division I college football.
In the season finale against FAU, he hauled in eight catches for 125 yards, his seventh game this year of 100+ yards receiving. After this past week’s action, he’s second in the country in receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns.
Bell is wrapping up one of the best seasons by a Husky receiver as he prepares for his professional future. UConn’s single-season records in catches and touchdowns already belong to Bell. He needs another 76 receiving yards to be first in that mark as well.
Men’s Hockey Slumps
UConn men’s hockey is 1-1-1 in its last three games against some sub-par competition.
The Huskies looked outplayed in their weekend series against UNH. Despite a 4-1 win on Friday, they were outshot and dominated on possession. They held a 3-2 lead with just six minutes to play in the third, but UNH mounted a comeback to beat UConn at home.
On Tuesday, against a Stonhill team that entered the game 1-12-0 on the season and sank near the bottom of just about every major statistical category in college hockey. UConn looked asleep in an eventual 3-3 tie, never able to hit the gear it needed to put the Skyhawks away. The Huskies are back in action this weekend for a home-and-home series against Merrimack.
“I just think we're not playing our best brand of hockey right now and this break is probably really good for us to get a little rest and regroup,” head coach Mike Cavanaugh said.
Women’s Hockey Surging
Women’s ice hockey has been on a tear, sweeping Vermont two weekends ago as the Huskies outscored the Catamounts, 10-3, before winning the Nutmeg Classic after beating No. 9 Quinnipiac and Yale this past weekend. They’ve won four in a row and eight of their last nine.
At 12-3-1, Chris Mackenzie’s squad is ranked No. 7 in the latest USCHO poll with a weekend series against No. 15 BU up next. They’ll play the Terriers in Storrs on Friday before wrapping up in Boston on Saturday.
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Weekly Rewind
Men’s Basketball
UConn ReView: Illinois ($) - An in-depth look at what stood out from the big win on Friday.
UConn Standing Tall Among the Nation’s Best ($) - The ratings say the defense is improved, and the emergence of guys like Malachi Smith, Eric Reibe, and Jayden Ross shows the elite depth of this roster.
Silas Demary Jr.’s triple-double powers No. 3 UConn past Bryant, 72-49 - The Georgia transfer has been great for the Huskies.
UConn cruises past Bryant, 72-49 – Dan Hurley emptied his bench once the contest was out of reach.
UConn men’s basketball stays at No. 5 in AP poll – The loss to Arizona dropped UConn two spots, and they stayed there after beating Bryant and Illinois.
Women’s Basketball
League play started this week, kind of…
How UConn landed Jovana Popovic – The news came out of nowhere, but a new recruit joined the 2026 class.
Chasing Perfection: What to make of UConn’s close win over Michigan – Second-half struggles slowed down a UConn team that might not be as good as previously thought.
UConn women’s basketball mauls Utah, 93-41 – Blanca Quiñonez set a career high in points with 21.
Azzi Fudd saves the day to help UConn stave off a comeback bid from No. 6 Michigan – Fudd scored 13 of the team’s 23 points in the fourth quarter.
Football
UConn Coach Jim Mora to Leave for Colorado State – Mora spent four seasons with UConn and has led the Huskies to back-to-back nine-win campaigns.
Where Will the Huskies Go Bowling This Year? – Breaking down UConn’s possible bowl game landing spots.
Storrs Central Coaching Search Thread ($) - The most accurate inside scoop on the Huskies’ current search.
Hockey
UConn to co-host 2026 Ice Breakers Tournament with Sacred Heart – Penn State and Bowling Green round out the field.
Why UConn fell apart late in 4-3 loss to UNH ($) – The Huskies got a much-improved performance from freshman goaltender Kam Hendrickson.
UConn pulls out 4-1 win over UNH – The Huskies were outshot by a wide margin but had some lucky breaks go their way.
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