The first World Series to cross the Canadian border in more than 30 years is about to begin. The Toronto Blue Jays host the Los Angeles Dodgers to start the 2025 Fall Classic on Friday, Oct. 24, and there are plenty of intriguing subplots.

The Dodgers, behind Shohei Ohtani, are attempting to repeat as World Series champions. The Blue Jays enter as underdogs hoping to recreate some of the magic Joe Carter conjured back in 1993 when they were last in the Fall Classic. It’s the great pitching of the Dodgers against the lively bats of the Blue Jays, led by star Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.

It should set up for a tightly-contested series, which means the umps in each game will be considered more so than the regular season, or even earlier rounds of the postseason.

Major League Baseball announced the umpires and full schedule for the crew chosen to call this year’s World Series ahead of Game 1 in Toronto. Mark Wegner has been designated as crew chief for the first time. It’s his third World Series overall overall during a 25-year career as an MLB umpire.

Jordan Baker, Adam Hamari, Adrian Johnson, Will Little, Alan Porter and John Tumpane make up the rest of the crew. Porter is working his third World Series assignment and it’s the second World Series appearance for Baker. Hamari, Johnson, Little and Tumpane will be umpiring in the World Series for the first time.

Since there are seven umpires in the rotation, each potential game in the best-of-seven series is scheduled to have a different umpire behind home plate, starting with Little in Game 1. One of the seven will be off the field for each game in the series. During Game 2, when Wegner is slated to be off the field, Porter will serve as crew chief.

Here’s a look at the umpire assignments for every possible game during the 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays:

World Series Game 1 umpires

Home plate: Will Little
First base: Mark Wegner (crew chief)
Second base: John Tumpane
Third base: Alan Porter
Left field: Adam Hamari
Right field: Jordan Baker
Reserve: Adrian Johnson

World Series Game 2 umpires

Home plate: Adrian Johnson
First base: John Tumpane
Second base: Alan Porter (crew chief)
Third base: Adam Hamari
Left field: Jordan Baker
Right field: Will Little
Reserve: Mark Wegner

World Series Game 3 umpires

Home plate: Mark Wegner (crew chief)
First base: Alan Porter
Second base: Adam Hamari
Third base: Jordan Baker
Left field: Will Little
Right field: Adrian Johnson
Reserve: John Tumpane

World Series Game 4 umpires

Home plate: John Tumpane
First base: Adam Hamari
Second base: Jordan Baker
Third base: Will Little
Left field: Adrian Johnson
Right field: Mark Wegner (crew chief)
Reserve: Alan Porter

World Series Game 5 umpires

Home plate: Alan Porter
First base: Jordan Baker
Second base: Will Little
Third base: Adrian Johnson
Left field: Mark Wegner (crew chief)
Right field: John Tumpane
Reserve: Adam Hamari

World Series Game 6 umpires

Home plate: Adam Hamari
First base: Will Little
Second base: Adrian Johnson
Third base: Mark Wegner (crew chief)
Left field: John Tumpane
Right field: Alan Porter
Reserve: Jordan Baker

World Series Game 7 umpires

Home plate: Jordan Baker
First base: Adrian Johnson
Second base: Mark Wegner (crew chief)
Third base: John Tumpane
Left field: Alan Porter
Right field: Adam Hamari
Reserve: Will Little

Watch the 2025 World Series with Fubo

World Series schedule: TV, streaming for 2025 Fall Classic

Every game of the 2025 World Series will be broadcast nationally on FOX and can be live streamed with Fubo. Here’s a look at the full Fall Classic schedule for the Blue Jays and Dodgers:

All times Eastern

Game 1: Dodgers at Blue Jays, 8 p.m. on Oct. 24 (FOX, Fubo)
Game 2: Dodgers at Blue Jays, 8 p.m. on Oct. 25 (FOX, Fubo)
Game 3: Blue Jays at Dodgers, 8 p.m. on Oct. 27 (FOX, Fubo)
Game 4: Blue Jays at Dodgers, 8 p.m. on Oct. 28 (FOX, Fubo)
Game 5: Blue Jays at Dodgers, 8 p.m. on Oct. 29 (FOX, Fubo)*
Game 6: Dodgers at Blue Jays, 8 p.m. on Oct. 31 (FOX, Fubo)*
Game 7: Dodgers at Blue Jays, 8 p.m. on Nov. 1 (FOX, Fubo)*

*if necessary

The World Series has set up two showdowns.

On the field: The Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the Toronto Blue Jays.

Off the field: man vs. dog.

Luna the dog, a 7-year-old Maltipoo, will be predicting each game of the World Series. You might know of her work.

She did predictions for the 2025 NFL playoffs, started 8-0 and finished the contest with a record of 11-2.

Now she’ll be making her first foray into Major League Baseball. And she’ll have two-legged competition – Bob Nightengale and Gabe Lacques, our esteemed baseball writers at USA TODAY Sports.

Bob and Gabe will be doing this for the love of the game. Luna will be doing this for the love of treats.

So let the predictions commence, and may the best mammal win!

The potential for chaos exists every week in this crazy sport we call college football. But the wildness of the just-concluded Week 8 slate will be hard to surpass.

Even so, there are plenty of contests worthy of attention in the Week 9 schedule. Our look at what we think will be the seven best games for your Saturday viewing will commence with yet another trio of Top 25 pairings in the SEC, and we’ll also look in on the Big Ten and Big 12. A notable tilt in the American makes an appearance in this space as well. Let’s dive in, shall we?

No. 8 Mississippi at No. 11 Oklahoma

Time/TV: noon ET, ABC.

Why watch: The first half of Ole Miss’s pivotal two-game road swing began well but ended with a fourth-quarter power outage at Georgia. The Rebels now go for a rebound in Norman, where the Sooners’ defense figures to offer a lot more resistance. Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss could use a fast start to erase the memory of last week’s rough finish between the hedges. But he and RB Kewan Lacy will be opposed by OU’s formidable defensive line featuring Jayden Jackson and Taylor Wein. The Sooners’ offense hasn’t been nearly as effective, with QB John Mateer still trying to regain his passing touch following hand surgery. Getting stops was an issue for the Rebels last week, but DL Zxavian Harris will try to get the Sooners off schedule.

Why it could disappoint: The second-half disappearing act by the Ole Miss offense has to be concerning, particularly as this encounter with the Sooners’ more accomplished defense looms. The good news for the Rebels is OU seemingly lacks the fire power to pull away, but that could also mean the game itself won’t be all that flashy.

No. 14 Missouri at No. 12 Vanderbilt

Time/TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN.

Why watch: This is the day’s second SEC matchup of teams looking to pick up a quality win and, perhaps of equal importance, avoid a second league loss. The Commodores might have more confidence coming in after their takedown of LSU, while Mizzou’s escape at Auburn was considerably more dicey. Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia is a one-man wrecking crew at times, though it helps when RB Sedrick Alexander and TE Eli Stowers get their share of touches. LB Josiah Trotter, the defensive centerpiece for Mizzou, will have Pavia under constant surveillance. Tigers QB Beau Pribula is also not afraid to tuck and run, though it is RB Ahmad Hardy that poses the primary threat on the ground. LBs Bryan Longwell and Langston Patterson will spearhead the rush defense for the Commodores.

Why it could disappoint: The Vandy secondary was exploited at times by LSU last week, but Mizzou might not be equipped to take advantage. The Commodores don’t go over the top much, either, but the big-play potential for both teams in the running game should keep spectators engaged.

No. 3 Texas A&M at No. 19 LSU

Time/TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC.

Why watch: The Aggies, the last unbeaten squad in the SEC, put their perfect record on the line in Baton Rouge, where the Tigers are in dire need of a win to keep their fading playoff hopes alive. A&M QB Marcel Reed has made excellent use of WRs K.C. Concepcion and Mario Craver when a chunk play is needed. DB A.J. Haulcy and the Tigers’ secondary must limit those opportunities. One positive development from LSU’s loss at Vanderbilt was QB Garrett Nussmeier gaining some traction in the passing game. He can expect heat from Aggies DL Cashius Howell.

Why it could disappoint: It probably won’t given the number of nailbiters involving the Aggies. But if A&M does manage to build a cushion, A Tigers’ comeback is hard to envision.

No. 10 Brigham Young at Iowa State

Time/TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, Fox.

Why watch: The Cougars don’t have long to celebrate their ‘Holy War’ victory against archrival Utah. The Cyclones, who finally got a needed week off, now look to regroup and snap a two-game skid. BYU QB Bear Bachmeier will look for an encore following his virtuoso performance against the Utes. He and RB L.J. Martin will become well acquainted with Cyclones LB Caleb Bacon. Iowa State QB Rocco Becht had a rough outing at Colorado in his most recent action two weeks ago. He might be rejoined in the backfield by RB Carson Hansen if he clears concussion protocol, but it might be tough sledding against LB Jack Kelly and the BYU front seven regardless.

Why it could disappoint: BYU games rarely do, although it might tend more toward the low-scoring side if it’s close. The Cougars are theoretically more susceptible to the turnover bug with the less experienced quarterback, but that hasn’t been a serious issue to this point.

Houston at No. 25 Arizona State

Time/TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2.

Why watch: The Sun Devils are back in the Big 12 mix after handing Texas Tech its first defeat. Next to visit Tempe are the Cougars, who were throttled by those same Red Raiders three weeks ago but have bounced back with a pair of conference wins. Having QB Sam Leavitt back in the lineup makes a huge difference for the Sun Devils, but he will be without WR Jordyn Tyson. Houston will count on DB Kentrell Webb to limit their long connections. Cougars QB Connor Weigman is coming off a stellar outing of his own against Arizona. His primary weapon is WR Amare Thomas, who must avoid being haunted by ASU’s safety tandem of Myles “Ghost” Rowser and Adrian “Boogie” Wilson.

Why it could disappoint: As mentioned, the Cougars’ only prior encounter with the Big 12’s upper tier didn’t go especially well for them. But that said, the Sun Devils’ league wins have all been one-score affairs, so it still might not be a blowout.

UCLA at No. 2 Indiana

Time/TV: Noon ET, Fox.

Why watch: The Hoosiers look to keep rolling toward a return to the playoff. Next up to try and slow them down are the suddenly dangerous Bruins, riding a three-game winning streak under interim coach Tim Skipper. Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is front and center in the Heisman conversation, making excellent use of WRs Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper with plenty of ground support from RBs Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black. Slowing them down will be a tall order, but Bruins LBs JonJon Vaughns and Isaiah Chisom will do their best. The UCLA offense has come alive, as QB Nico Iamaleava has seemingly been unlocked. He must watch out for Hoosiers CB D’Angelo Ponds when choosing his target, and he’ll likely receive extra attention from LB Aiden Fisher when he leaves the pocket.

Why it could disappoint: It probably will if we’re being honest. The Hoosiers weren’t happy with a somewhat slow start against Michigan State last week, and if they have successfully addressed that issue it will be a long afternoon for the Bruins.

No. 20 South Florida at Memphis

Time/TV: noon ET, ESPN2.

Why watch: This is still a key showdown in the hotly contested American, though it is no longer a Top 25 pairing thanks to the Tigers’ damaging loss at Alabama-Birmingham last week. Memphis could still make it back to defend its conference title, but a loss to the red-hot Bulls would likely end those aspirations. The availability of Memphis QB Brendon Lewis, who left the UAB game with a lower leg injury, will likely not be known until kickoff, so it might be up to freshman A.J. Hill to run the offense. Bulls LB Mac Harris will make life difficult regardless of who takes snaps for the Tigers. USF QB Byrum Brown has been putting up huge point totals since being stymied by Miami back in Week 3. Memphis LBs Sam Brumfield and Drue Watts will try to keep him contained.

Why it could disappoint: Memphis fans have to hope last week’s performance was a case of peeking ahead. A similar lack of focus at the beginning or failure to execute at the end could spell disaster against the high-scoring Bulls.

Enrique Hernandez ranks 10th in MLB history with 96 postseason appearances.
Hernandez was on the Dodgers teams that won the 2020 and 2024 World Series.
Hernandez and the Dodgers are in the World Series for the fifth time in nine years.

TORONTO – There’s no official birthdate when Playoff Kiké came into this world. But there’s a very easily identifiable moment when it happened.

There’s no logical reason why Playoff Kiké came into this world. But the man himself has a really good idea why it happened.

It is October, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in the World Series, and Kiké Hernández is striking baseballs with authority once again, a phenomenon that defies all logic and statistical trends amassed over a significant sample size.

See, Hernández is back in the Fall Classic for the fifth time and has 11 hits in 36 at-bats in the Dodgers’ drive toward consecutive world championships. And in Game 1 of this World Series Oct. 24, he will equal Justin Turner’s record of playoff games played for the Dodgers – a franchise second only to the New York Yankees in playoff contests.

Let’s just get this out there: Hernández is a lifetime .236 hitter, with a lifetime adjusted OPS of 91, both metrics suggesting he’s a below-average player.

But in the postseason? Well, this restless and goofy and adrenaline-seeking character might as well consider the playoff opener his personal Groundhog Day, waking up, seeing his shadow in the Chavez Ravine sunlight and banging out base hits like Dodger Dogs coming off the conveyor belt.

“These are the games I live for,” Hernández says the day before Game 1. “In life, you get put on the planet to do certain things.

“And for me, I feel like I was put on this planet to love my family, make people laugh and play October baseball.”

Mission most certainly accomplished. Yet Hernández can trace his playoff outbursts to a specific, and more serious point in time.

In 2017, he was in his first full season with the Dodgers, his track record with them at that point – a .234 average, a .310 OBP from a light-hitting utilityman – consistent with his career numbers.

But it was a unique and sobering year, for better and worse.

Hernández’s pride swelled when he represented Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, as the Boricuas made all the way to the finals before losing to Team USA.

Then the regular season unfolded, and one of the greatest Dodger teams of this 13-year playoff run coalesced, winning 104 games. Yet as the season wound down, Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, displacing 73,000 on the island and causing an estimated $92 billion in damage.

“I didn’t have a great year on a personal level,” says Hernández, “but then at the end of the regular season we had that big hurricane back home. It put life into perspective for me. And baseball became a little more of a game than it was before that.

“And that year, I felt like dedicating that postseason to my family, my people in need back home. Something came out in me that – I don’t know how to explain it – but October starts, and for me, if your numbers aren’t there in the regular season but you go out in the postseason and help your team win, in my eyes that’s having a good year.”

And goodness, was that a good year.

Hernández hatched his postseason legend with a three-home run performance in Game 5 of the NLCS at Wrigley Field, vanquishing the defending champion Cubs and punching the Dodgers’ ticket to their first World Series since 1988.

It wasn’t his first playoff rodeo, but it was a harbinger.

Kiké Hernández stats stun in October

Nearly a decade later, these are Hernández’s playoff totals: A .282 average, a .356 on-base percentage, .863 OPS and 15 home runs in 299 plate appearances.

To put that power in perspective, only twice has Hernández topped 20 homers in a season and he needed 462 plate appearances to hit 21 in 2018, and 585 to hit 20 in 2021.

All of that playoff damage save for 11 games with Boston in 2021 has come on the Dodgers’ behalf. It’s not the sight of playoff bunting on the upper deck; it’s simply in the blood.

“For me, it’s very hard to feel adrenaline in the regular season and easier in the postseason,” he says. “I’ve failed so much in the regular season throughout my career, that when it comes to playoff time I feel like I have absolutely nothing to lose.

“At times, the hardest thing to do in this game is accept failure. And not be afraid of it and I’m guilty of falling for it during the regular season. But once the playoffs come, all that matters is winning.

“That intensity and added focus for me, and the electricity and atmosphere – a lot of that has to do with adrenaline.”

While the rep is by now well-earned, it can still slip under the radar.

The Dodgers’ 2024 championship was nailed down in Game 5, when they erupted for five runs in the fifth inning and two more in the eighth, stunning New York at Yankee Stadium.

While the Yankees’ fielding foibles and heroics from Teoscar Hernández commanded the spotlight, those rallies emanated from a different source: Leadoff singles by Kiké Hernández, off Gerrit Cole in the fifth and Tommy Kahnle in the eighth.

“He just continues to rise to the occasion,” says Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw, the left-hander who will retire after this World Series. “He’s always very prepared – you can count on Kiké have a plan, to play great defense.

“I’ve always been thankful for Kiké. You always want him on your team, for sure.”

Los Angeles is ‘second home’ for Kiké Hernández

When Chase Utley finished his career with the Dodgers, Hernández dubbed him “Dad,” both in deference and accurately describing his role with the club. Now, Kershaw sees a lot of Utley in Hernández, with his willingness to help younger players and pick up the finer points of the game, always.

At this point, it almost seems like Hernández, 34, has an open invitation to spring training at Camelback Ranch. Yet nothing is forever, and Hernández has seen versatile stalwarts like Chris Taylor move on.

He gets emotional knowing it’s Turner, a mentor and friend, whose Dodgers playoff game record he’ll break, and sanguine enough to know that superstars like Mookie Betts or Shohei Ohtani will someday surpass him.

But he remains productive, and, at this time of year, indispensable. And though Puerto Rico will always be home, Hernández realizes he’s built another one in Los Angeles.

Even if that’s due largely to his exploits just one month out of the year.

“It’s my second home. It means the world to me,” he says. “It’s been a long relationship but the way the fans have embraced me since Day 1 has made the transition a lot better. From having uncertainty where you fit on the roster to wondering whether or not you’re going to stick around in the big leagues to quickly becoming one of the fan favorites.

“I haven’t had the greatest of careers when you’re talking about regular season. But they still cheer on me and love on me like I was Shohei.

“That speaks volumes. And that is something I will never take for granted.”

OK, let me get this straight. The university that cried poor over the past two years, that threw a public and legal tantrum about the ACC’s revenue sharing system creating an unsustainable financial deficit for its sports programs, is on the verge of giving its football coach nearly $60 million dollars to not coach. 

The university that just finished a $265 million renovation to its football stadium, and just this week opened its $138 million, 150,000 square-foot standalone football facility, is close to firing a coach it extended in January of 2024 for 10 years and more than $80 million. 

What in blue blazes is going on at Florida State? 

I may be in the minority here, but maybe those in charge — not suddenly failing football coach Mike Norvell — should be on the hook for this financial mess. Maybe the ugly truth behind the rise and fall of Norvell isn’t all about the football team, but as much about bumbling tactical mistakes from the university.  

Let me introduce the Law of Holes to FSU president Richard McCullough: when you find yourself in one, stop digging. 

This isn’t that difficult to figure out, and it goes all the way back to two summers ago, when FSU first floated the idea of leaving the ACC because it was losing money and at a competitive disadvantage with other schools in the football-mad south.

Either the threat to leave the ACC was an elaborate ruse that allowed FSU to — as they say in hardscrabble Tallahassee politics — “trick-@#%!” its way through more than a year of legal filings, knowing full-well it was never leaving but used it as leverage, anyway (and the ACC bit, of course). Or the university has magically found a handful of boosters who decided 60 large isn’t to steep a price to fire a coach. 

Either way, it all makes absolutely zero sense. 

Or maybe — stay with me here — FSU just loves being part of the action. You know, the whiff of the game at hand. 

Sitting at the big boy table, yucking it up and puffing out its chest and making clear, beyond all doubt, it deserves a spot right alongside the SEC and Big Ten. And to prove it, sonofagun if we’re not going to spend more than $483 million to make us look like everybody else at that table. 

Then fire a coach, pay him $60 million to walk and blame lost revenue on him. After blaming it on the ACC.

But don’t feel sorry for Norvell, who “trick-@#%!” his way in 2023 to an unbeaten regular season, and used superstar sports agent Jimmy Sexton to leverage it into a monster pay raise because Alabama may or may not have had interest in a coach who — prior to 2023 — had won 18 games in three seasons in Tallahassee. 

Again, I may be in the minority, but I can’t see uber-sharp Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne selling Norvell as the guy to follow the greatest coach in the history of the planet.

But Norvell used a hot quarterback in 2023, a group of key additions from the transfer portal, and played a favorable ACC schedule (why is the ACC always the common denominator here?) to go 13-0. And if we’re being completely honest, could’ve won it all with healthy quarterback Jordan Travis.

But here’s the key to this entire financial cluster truck: Saban didn’t tell Alabama he was leaving until Jan. 10, 2024 — nine days after FSU brass got a clear look at the future under Norvell. 

Because it was nine days earlier that FSU played in the Orange Bowl against two-time defending national champion Georgia, and lost by 60. I’m not making that up, the Noles – playing without Travis and a group of star players opting out of the game to prepare for the NFL draft — were humiliated in an eight-possession loss. 

It was then that McCullough and FSU athletic director Mike Alford should’ve seen what they had in Norvell and his philosophy of roster building, or more important, the immediate future of the team. Because the FSU team that got its doors blown off in the Orange Bowl was the foundation of the team — with more crapshoot additions from the portal (this time, failed additions) — that won two games in 2024. 

The same FSU program that had decided under Norvell to ignore building organically by developing elite high school players, and instead chose to roll the dice on the great unloved and unpaid of the portal.

FSU brass then threw a 10-year extension at Norvell and banked on his ability to find anywhere from 15-25 impact players annually from a transfer portal that has two types of players: those other schools don’t want, or those looking for a quick payday.

Now FSU has lost its past nine ACC games and 11 of 12, and last week lost to a gutted Stanford team that fired its coach during the summer and is using an old NFL coach as a stop gap — all after losing its elite players to the transfer portal when its head coach was originally fired.

So now (now!) FSU decides to roll out the ol’ vote of confidence for Norvell, in which Alford’s statement this week reads more like a hostage note than support for an embattled coach. If the Big Ten and SEC are firing coaches with fat buyouts, then bygawd, so can FSU.

They’ll circle back at the end of the season, Alford said, and assess football like all of their sports programs.

Wait, this reckless fiscal ride gets much better.

After spending more than $483 million on two football facilities, FSU may spend another $70 million to make Norvell and his staff not coach in Tallahassee, then spend another $70 million for a new, elite-level coach and his staff to replace the mistake they made with Norvell. 

That’s more than $625 million spent on football, or significantly more than what the university could’ve paid the ACC two summers ago to leave the conference if it had an invite to the Big Ten or SEC ― which it never did. 

Maybe it’s time for a new Law of Holes. 

When you find yourself in a money pit, stop trying to trick-@#%! your way out of it. 

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

UCLA football has struggled for over two decades due to a lack of administrative investment.
Fans and alumni have grown frustrated with athletic director Martin Jarmond for failing to get the program back to relevant.
UCLA is searching for another coach, but many believe the job’s attractiveness is hindered by administrative dysfunction.

As Rick Neuheisel emotionally watched his son Jerry be hoisted in the air by UCLA players after it pulled off a stunning upset of No. 2 Penn State earlier this month, he came to a realization.

“Evidence of what can be, right?” he told USA TODAY Sports.

It was surely a moment for UCLA, beating a team in the top 10 for the first time since 2010. But there lies the unfortunate reality: the win came in what has been a prolonged period of mediocrity − sometimes even disheartening.

It doesn’t sit right with Rick Neuheisel. This is the man that was the 1984 Rose Bowl MVP. A few years after that, an Oklahoma transfer named Troy Aikman dazzled in the blue and gold and was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Terry Donahue made UCLA a nationally relevant program in the 80s and 90s, with success continuing after his tenure to 1998, when the Bruins were a few plays away from playing for a national championship. 

Since then, it’s been California weeping. 

No conference titles in the 21st century. Just two 10-win seasons compared with 10 seasons under .500. Declining attendance at the Rose Bowl. Six different full-time head coaches – a list that includes Neuheisel – have failed to build sustained success UCLA.

“You’re starting to get known for having that lull. That dull moment where we’re not doing so well,” said Danielle Aparicio, who said she has been going to games for 20 years, starting with her dad in her youth.

Why is it that UCLA can’t succeed? Well, if you ask Neuheisel, those in the football industry and fans, it extends beyond the football field. 

UCLA can’t stop getting in the way of its success. 

Now as the Bruins embark on finding another coach at a critical juncture of its program, can they find someone able to save it? It’s certainly worth discussing, but perhaps there’s a bigger question to ask.

Is it worth it?

”Such great things were possible if we just would take the next step and build the front porch,” Neuheisel said. “Not just want to be a front porch.”

Why has UCLA football struggled?

Neuheisel’s UCLA coaching debut in 2008 came with great hype; the Bruins hosted No. 18 Tennessee on Labor Day. There were more than 68,000 people inside the Rose Bowl to watch UCLA pull off a comeback win over the Volunteers in overtime.

Neuheisel saw the game as a chance to capitalize on momentum. However, the athletic department and administration weren’t on the same page. Throughout his tenure, he said he was told several times the expectations externally were vastly different internally. Constantly told no and there wasn’t money to invest.

“You just couldn’t get anywhere,” Neuheisel said. “At least that was my frustration.”

It’s a problem that plagued the Bruins for the past two decades, with former athletic director Dan Guerrero and former chancellor Gene Block seen as the ones preventing major investment into football. While UCLA’s other sports were winning championships, football wasn’t.

What made a bad problem worse was Guerrero’s final hire at football, Chip Kelly. Guerrero fired Jim Mora, the only coach who won 10 games at UCLA this century and regularly brought 70,000 people into the Rose Bowl, and replaced him with Kelly in what was considered a home run hire.

But it was fool’s gold. For an administration that didn’t want to invest in football, Kelly was the perfect one in charge.

Not only did Kelly’s tenure begin with a five consecutive losses and a 7-15 record in his first two seasons, but the coach did little to advance the program. Recruiting wasn’t a priority. He had little interest in engaging with donors – let alone fans. When name, image and likeness was introduced in 2021 and the race was on to raise money across the country, UCLA was twiddling its thumbs at the starting line. 

“In the age of NIL, you’re counting on fans to fund your program and build a roster,” said Spencer Stueve, UCLA alumnus and current season ticket holder. “UCLA didn’t have the personalities to kind of pull the donor base together to do that adequately.”

After Guerrero retired in 2020, Martin Jarmond was hired from Boston College to become the new athletic director. By the time he arrived, the fan base was growing increasingly annoyed with Kelly’s shortcomings. 

Wins started coming, but interest waned. With each game, the Rose Bowl got emptier. Record-low crowds that made the prestigious stadium look like a ghost town, with tarps placed in both end zones.

It became increasingly clear Kelly was no longer interested in being a head coach. After the 2023 season ended, Kelly was reportedly interviewing for several coordinator jobs. UCLA needed to break away from someone that already had a foot out the door, but instead, Jarmond publicly stood by Kelly.

Less than three months later, Kelly bolted to Ohio State to become the offensive coordinator.

Pressure rises on Martin Jarmond

Jarmond’s inability to read the room led to the fan base turning on him quickly. Kelly’s departure couldn’t have been timed worse, when the coaching carousel already stopped, limiting his ability to find a successor. 

Unbeknownst to many, Jarmond self-imposed 96 hours to find a new coach. He settled on former UCLA running back and then-assistant DeShaun Foster. He was beloved by the team, yet had no experience as a head coach.

It went exactly how you’d figure. The Bruins went 5-7 in his first season, and after generating hype with the arrival of transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava, UCLA started 2025 0-3, punctuated by an embarrassing home loss to New Mexico. Two days later, Foster was fired after just 15 games on the job.

There was discontent with Foster as coach, but not him specifically. The frustrations were toward Jarmond and how badly he fumbled the situation after Kelly’s exit. He took the blame for hiring Foster, but said “you make the best decisions with the circumstances and the resources that you have to work with.”

Fans aren’t buying that excuse. Since Foster was let go, fans in and around the Rose Bowl can be seen sporting “Fire Jarmond” shirts, and a plane has flown around with a banner that read “Fire UCLA AD Jarmond.”

“When you look at it, Martin Jarmond needs to be held accountable,” said Henry Valdez, a UCLA season ticket holder for 25 years. “They need to let him go too.”

Is the UCLA job desirable? 

Now, UCLA is looking another reset. On the hunt for its next coach to take over permanently for the 2026 season. However, are the Bruins able to entice someone to take the job?

After all, it was Jarmond himself that said, “it’s an attractive job. It’s not an easy job.”

Scott Roussel, president of coaching news site FootballScoop.com, said he’s spoken to several former coaches that have told him people “should be tripping over themselves” to be UCLA coach. But like what many in the coaching world believe, the lack of administrative support is what’s scaring people away. 

“They should have everything you need to be able to win conference championships, regardless of whether or not in the Big Ten. They should have everything you need to recruit locally,” Roussell said. “They should have more than enough money to secure the players they need and you should be able to compete for championships and live a great life there. It’s definitely viewed as a great job. The administration is what I hear coaches going ‘Eh, don’t love the current situation.”

Money is a central issue. UCLA’s athletic department has been operating in a deficit for years now, a driving force why the Bruins desperately wanted to be in the Big Ten with its guarantee of mone compared with the uncertainty of the Pac-12. 

Yet, while UCLA has been trying to dig itself out of its hole, it hasn’t been effective in generating funds from a fan base that can provide it. The resources are there, but the administration hasn’t had the right person there to tap into it.

“There are 50 people who could do the job. It’s not that complicated. You have to get someone that could rally donor support,” Stueve said. “UCLA has a rich donor base. You just have donors giving to the hospital instead of football.”

With Jarmond’s job seemingly at stake, UCLA has shown signs it’s ready to take football seriously. The search committee, spearhead by Jarmond, includes financial juggernaut Casey Wasserman, former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers, Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters, former player Eric Kendricks and seniors associate athletic director Erin Adkins.  

There’s a new chancellor too in Julio Frenk, who comes from Miami and has told the Los Angeles Times he will be active in finding success in athletics.

On Oct. 14, the UC Board of Regents – which Myers is part of – approved the compensation parameters for the next UCLA coach, seemingly allowing the Bruins to spend big to find its next coach.

“I think they will have adequate funds to meet the demand in the right term. They will have enough to entice a coach they want,” Roussell said.

Is Tim Skipper an option at UCLA?

When UCLA fans were acknowledging the 0-4 start was rock bottom, they didn’t envision rising up so suddenly. Led by interim coach Tim Skipper, UCLA shocked Penn State and has won three consecutive games. Now, at 3-1 in Big Ten play, the Bruins head into a matchup against No. 2 Indiana on Oct. 25 in what has become a meaningful game, something few fathomed a month ago.

With how much things have turned around for UCLA, it’s pondering if the guy the Bruins need is already in Westwood.

“I don’t think their intent was, hey, ‘We’ll have Skip step in and he’s going to rip off a run of wins.’ I don’t think they ever thought that was going to happen, but here we are,” Roussell said. “As long as Skip and the Bruins keep winning, that changes everything.”

Now Jarmond is in a precarious situation. UCLA will obviously wait and see how the rest of the season unfolds, especially when it has Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio State and Southern California on the schedule. 

At 3-4, what final record would be enough for Skipper to be considered? And is this recent run a flash in the pan, or a sample of what could come?

Skipper is beloved within the coaching circle, Roussell added, with several people pulling for him to get the permanent role. The man himself said he hasn’t “thought about that one ounce,” but like any coach, wants to be one running a program.

Even though Skipper said he isn’t thinking about the future, his staff is acting like it. The interim staff continues to get recruiting commitments when there’s a high chance it won’t be back next season.

While he’s brought buzz and excitement back, Skipper surely doesn’t fit the idea Jarmond is looking for. Hours after Foster was fired, he told reporters he wants a coach “that sees a vision to take UCLA to the playoffs,” someone confident with the attitude and skills to make it happen.

UCLA’s future at stake

Rousell said Jarmond is testing the waters but is aiming super high, “looking for a home run.” He could decide to thank Skipper and let him walk, but what if he finds a permanent job and ends up succeeding? Or worse, Jarmond strikes out looking for that home run hire. 

UCLA fans that spoke with USA TODAY Sports all said they want a coach that can get the resources to succeed, connect with fans and build its donor investment, giving NIL proper attention. Most of all, they want someone that will want to stick around.

“Jarmond’s got one more chance to get this right, otherwise he’s going to be shown the door,” said UCLA alumnus and season ticket holder André Hannie.

If UCLA can find the right hire and get support from the administration to fix a generation of wrongdoing, the Rose Bowl can find glory outside of New Year’s Day. In an area where World Series and NBA Finals are expected out of the professional franchises, those same lofty goals dictate investment collegiately. 

There are a multitude of things to do in Los Angeles. If you aren’t winning or showing interest in doing it, it will be reflected in attendance or funding.  Show those wildest dreams are obtainable, and they will come. Get it right, and the jokes about UCLA’s home crowd will stop, no tarps necessary.

“To think that we can be consistently there when we’re not willing to invest is folly,” Neuheisel said. “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, I think is the definition of insanity.”

TORONTO — It was the sort of managerial mishap that has ruined men with greater reputations, with major league player pedigree to fall back on, with bigger contracts and longer leashes.

Yet John Schneider has survived 24 years in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, has grown into a leader his veteran players follow, and has banked enough equity in their clubhouse that Game 5 of the American League Championship Series was not going to define him.

Oh, it was bad: Schneider going with inconsistent lefty Brendon Little in the eighth inning, the ALCS tied 2-2, the Blue Jays holding a 2-1 lead, Cal Raleigh erasing the advantage with one swing and Eugenio Suárez putting Toronto on the brink of winter with a go-ahead grand slam.

For two days, the move was dissected and destroyed, and Schneider’s eternally ruddy face seemed to bear the brunt.

“It felt like I was in a washing machine that just would never stop rinsing and spinning. It was a lot, you know what I mean?” Schneider tells USA TODAY Sports. “You’re always trying to do what’s right by the guys. You’re always trying to let them decide the outcome of the game. I tried to just really stay focused on that and learn in real time and think about what’s best for the team.

“There’s been things I get scrutinized for. You learn to live with it. And the more you do it, the quicker you can move onto the next thing, the easier it gets.”

Oh, there’s little that’s easy about this game. Yet Schneider is proof that redemption is never far: The Blue Jays came home to win Game 6 and Schneider painted his masterpiece in Game 7, deploying two starters in relief, coaxing a third inning in two nights from closer Jeff Hoffman and then, the baseball lifer was granted the just dessert many believed he deserved.

George Springer’s go-ahead, eighth-inning three-run homer vaulted the Blue Jays into their first World Series since 1993, a span in which Schneider was in their employ as a poor-hitting minor league catcher, a coach and manager buried deep in their organization until his methodical rise resulted in him taking the managerial reins in the middle of the 2022 season.

This was not Aaron Boone, going straight from broadcast booth to the Yankee dugout.

No, this was a guy who managed franchise cornerstones Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero many moons ago – not in Toronto, but in rookie league Dunedin, in 2017, when they were teenagers and both players and manager were four levels away from the big city.

This was the organizational grinder sticking around to finally sit in the hottest seat in the organization – and surviving in it long enough to see Game 1, 2025 World Series, Oct. 24 against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

“It’s easy to play for John because he’s been a player and coach for so long. He’s coached guys here in the minors. He’s basically another player on the team,” Blue Jays set-up man Louis Varland tells USA TODAY Sports. “But he’s the manager. He still maintains that respectful separation between player and manager.

“John is the exact guy you want in that position to deal with it all. He’s the face of the team. He has to answer all the questions. What he does is not easy. But he does it very well. And we are all so happy and prideful to play for him.”

Started from the bottom

At 45, Schneider is just four years older than his most senior player. Yet in this, his fourth season as a big league manager, he made a vow to himself that the gut punches and second guesses and Maalox nights when the best relief options weren’t available would not take him outside of himself.

“My goal coming into the season was to try and be my authentic self. Every single day,” he says. “Not that I wasn’t in the past. But I think you need some time in this job to get good at that. “I’ve tried to keep that in the forefront and set the tone of not wavering if things are bad. And not wavering when things are good and getting too high.

“I feel like that’s resonated with the staff and the players and that’s why we’ve responded the way we do. I’ve learned from past successes and failures to not get lost in it and not get lost in the emotion of it and move on to what the next important thing is.”

So authentic, it is.

After their ALCS Game 7 triumph, Schneider took the liberty to drop a handful of f-bombs on the live mic in Rogers Centre, broadcast live to the nation, as well.

Yet even those words were carefully considered.

“This is (expletive) unbelievable to me,” he said to longtime Blue Jays broadcast reporter Hazel Mae. “This is my 24th year with this organization, and I (expletive) love it here.”

Later, he expanded on that notion, beer dripping off his hat as his players poured Budweiser on their manager.

“It’s such a fulfilling job because you have an entire country hanging on every pitch and I do, too,” he says. “I feel like I’m part Canadian.

“I love drinking beer, I like Tim Horton’s, I’m one of ‘em, you know what I mean?”

OK, so he’s technically a Jersey guy schooled at the University of Delaware. But wear a maple leaf on your hat long enough, and you definitely pass.

Especially when you can stay cool in the most uncomfortable moments.

The Blue Jays led the major leagues in comeback wins this season, so Schneider knew what to do when the seventh inning of ALCS Game 7 came around: He sat down next to hitting coach David Popkins, their customary, silent alignment when a rally was needed.

Perhaps it was just coincidence that Springer delivered. But guide your club to 94 wins, and seven in 11 postseason games, and you earn the regard of those around you.

“I saw someone who was able to get to the next game, get to the next pitch, and really lead and not show an ounce of panic on his face. Everyone feels that,” says Popkins. “It’s easy for managers sometimes when stuff like that happens to really start to panic. They might not want to show it, but they are. They’re showing it on their face.”

Popkins read Schneider’s expression on that suboptimal flight back from Seattle after the Game 5 loss, into the next day. And saw a manager ready to turn the page.

“I think Schneids took a day to talk about it, to feel it, and then after that he was the same guy the next day,” says Popkins.

Says future Hall of Fame pitcher Max Scherzer: “This clubhouse is really tight. And he’s a part of it. Our coaches are in sync with our players. He’s kind of adopted the personality of us, and we of him and we’re a very good team.

“We did lose Game 5 in a very heartbreaking way. Yeah, it stung. We’re humans. But we knew, going back on the flight, we can flip the script. We knew we can play with anybody in this league. We’re a great team. And we did. We flipped it.”

‘Kind of a surreal moment’

They rebounded to win Game 6 behind rookie Trey Yesavage and won the pennant a night later. It was a culmination of what so many veteran Blue Jays say was a potent clubhouse combination, a tight-knit multi-cultural group loving their time in Toronto.

Scherzer, 41, says he had an epiphany the other day: He’s closer in age to Schneider than his eldest Blue Jays teammates. He’s seeking his third World Series ring, his most recent won under four-time Series champion Bruce Bochy.

In Schneider, Scherzer sees a leader but also a semi-peer with whom he can convey the clubhouse vibes.

“It gives me runway where I do have a more personal relationship with a manager. I’ve been around the block. I know how to run a race. This is what I’ve seen,” says Scherzer. “Been in many organizations. Seen how teams operate. And just kind of have the conversation with him, how he’s thinking about the team and the game and seeing it.

“Or, frankly, sometimes, a manager needs to know exactly what the clubhouse is thinking. That can be a very important bridge to make sure everybody in the front office knows as well. It’s a two-way street of communication. He’s been great about it.”

Schneider will now aim to join Cito Gaston as the lone managers to guide the Blue Jays to a World Series championship. Gaston’s name is forever on Rogers Centre’s Level of Excellence, right in between Davie Stieb and longtime exec Pat Gillick.

Perhaps Schneider needs multiple championships, like Gaston, to get memorialized up there. But 24 years in an organization certainly counts for something.

If nothing else, it bought him the equity to maneuver through the tightest of spaces, this postseason cauldron that saw the Blue Jays emerge, ready to host the defending champions in their own, raucous barn.

And now this career .206-hitting catcher has bested Boone and Mariners manager Dan Wilson, a former All-Star catcher, in this postseason. Another playoff legend and two-time World Series winning manager Dave Roberts awaits.

“I know there’s scrutiny and second-guessing that comes with my job. I get it. That’s OK,” says Schneider “But I will do everything in my power to do right by this organization and this entire country.

“For me, it’s kind of a surreal moment now.”

INGLEWOOD, CA — Catching passes from Justin Herbert is a full circle moment for Los Angeles Chargers rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II.

Gadsden’s father, who he’s named after, played with the Miami Dolphins for six seasons, from 1998 to 2003. Gadsden’s allegiance was to the Dolphins growing up because of his father.

Gadsden II was still in high school in 2020, the year the Dolphins had the fifth pick in the draft. He wanted Miami to draft Justin Herbert with the selection.

The Dolphins chose Tua Tagovailoa, instead, and the Chargers took Herbert with the next selection.

Five years later, Gadsden is catching passes from Herbert on the Chargers.

“It feels great. He’s a guy I’ve been watching for a long time, as long as he’s been in the league,” Gadsden told USA TODAY Sports. “I was a Dolphins fan growing up, so I really was hoping that the Dolphins drafted him back then. So, this guy’s great to play with now and be one of his good targets.”

Gadsden’s turned into one of Herbert’s favorite targets while taking over the Chargers starting tight end position.

The Chargers’ offense has featured Gadsden the past two weeks.

“He’s a stud,” Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey said. “I knew he was special. He’s getting his opportunity and he’s playing like (a) vet.”

Even in a loss in Week 7, Gadsden produced 164 receiving yards, the fourth-most by a rookie tight end in a game in NFL history, and a touchdown. The Chargers offense operated out of 22 personnel (two running backs and two tight ends) on 27 plays in Week 8, tied for third-most by an offense in a game since 2016, per Next Gen Stats. Gadsden compiled five catches, 77 yards and a touchdown in the Chargers’ 37-10 win versus the Minnesota Vikings. He’s just the third rookie tight end since 1970 to register consecutive games with 75 receiving yards and a touchdown.

“As soon as he got here for camp, we knew he was gonna be pretty good. He made a ton of plays, picked up the offense really quickly, and just found a way to get open. That’s what he did (Thursday),” Herbert said. “We’re definitely gonna get him the ball as much as we can, because good things happen when he gets it.”

The rookie fifth-round pick now has 27 catches, 385 receiving yards and two touchdowns in six games this season. He’s quickly become a reliable target over the middle for Herbert and a Chargers team that came into Week 8 with the NFL’s third-best passing offense.

“Just super talented. The thing that strikes me the most is he plays like he’s been playing in the NFL for two, three, four years. He seems like a four-year, five-year player to me,’ Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said.

‘Sure that’s Mr. Gadsden and Mrs. Gadsden who have poured that into him. And with his dad playing, you can probably connect the dots that he’s been in the league his whole life. That’s how he plays. That’s how he approaches everything that he does.

‘That’s been well coached into him and well parented into Oronde, and bodes well for the Chargers.”

Gadsden’s football bloodlines have already paid dividends for the Chargers. His 164 receiving yards in Week 7 were the most by a Chargers tight end since Hall of Famer Antonio Gates had a 167-yard outing in 2009. Gadsden followed up that performance with another superb game in prime time on Thursday night.

‘Bringing the energy, bringing the speed, being consistent in practice, how I am in the game. Then being able to catch the ball every time it’s thrown at me, plus being able to get open versus man,’ Gadsden said of his approach this season.

It’s working thus far. If he continues his positive trajectory, the Chargers might’ve found their tight end of the present and future in the fifth round of the draft.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.