Jason Candle previews Toledo's trip to Kentucky: "An incredible opponent"

We heard from Mark Stoops in Kentucky’s first Monday press conference of the 2025 season. An hour later, Toledo head coach Jason Candle met with reporters to preview the Rockets’ trip to Lexington to open the year.

A two-time MAC Coach of the Year, Candle began his remarks by praising the Wildcats and the challenge of heading into Kroger Field in Week 1.

“Tremendously excited,” Candle said of the 12:45 p.m. kickoff. “An incredible opponent in Week 1. Week 1s are hard enough; going on the road in the SEC is another set of challenges.

“But I’m really happy with our team here going through camp, and where we’re at right now and what we’re looking to head to. So I think it’ll be a great game for us, a great measuring stick to see where we’re at, and a real quality opponent in Kentucky.

“You know, Coach Stoops and his staff have been together for a long time and done it at a high level for a long time. Wins after wins after wins and a lot of success there, so a stiff challenge for our team, and one we’re looking forward to.”

“They’re going to make you earn everything that you get.”

When asked to name some of the specific challenges in playing Kentucky, Candle emphasized the longevity of Mark Stoops’ coaching staff, especially on the defensive side, led by Brad White in his seventh season as DC.

“The defensive staff has been there for, I mean, it seems like forever together, right? There’s a lot of defense to go back through the years and go watch.”

Candle added physicality and toughness to the list of Kentucky’s strengths. “That has always been at the forefront of any team that Coach Stoops has ever been involved in or coached, and I think that resonates and comes off the tape.

“They’re going to be big and up front, and they’re going to be long in the secondary. They’re what an SEC team looks like—great length, great size, and they’re going to make you earn everything that you get.”

Watch Jason Candle’s Pre-Kentucky Press Conference at Toledo

(via Toledo Rockets on YouTube)

Mark Stoops on Jason Candle and Toledo

In Stoops’ Monday conversation, he was very complimentary of his opposing head coach. Stoops called Jason Candle “extremely consistent” throughout his coaching career, which is in Year 17 on the Toledo sideline. He began as a 30-year-old slot receivers/tight ends coach under Matt Campbell, and now Candle enters his 10th season as the head coach of the Rockets, one win shy of setting the all-time wins record. He’s helped out by staff continuity, with three coordinators back for their sixth season together.

“He and his staff have been there together for a long time,” Stoops said of Toledo’s coaching staff. “They are definitely a worthy opponent. Last year, with two Power 4 victories, beating a tough Mississippi State team. I know how hard it is to go into that environment and win. And they obviously played extremely well last year, and then beat Pitt in the bowl game. You can see how resilient they are. Six-overtime win against Pitt, quite impressive.”

Saturday’s game won’t be Stoops’ first time coaching against Candle in Lexington. He recalled the first Kentucky-Toledo game in 2019, when the Rockets had the Wildcats down by 14 early and by a touchdown at halftime in the Bluegrass.

“A very difficult, tough game, and we expect that again.”