This post was updated Oct. 2 at 1:38 a.m.
The final pillar fell Tuesday.
With the departure of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri, all that remains of the Fos Era are the memories, a losing record and the “Do More” and “Discipline. Respect. Enthusiasm.” privacy screens across Drake Stadium.
The excitement that surrounded Westwood less than two years ago – with Foster bursting into tears of joy at his introductory presser, bringing back the Spring Showcase, participating in the Rose Bowl walk and campaigning for UCLA’s name, image and likeness collective – is gone. Now, the college football world points at the Bruins and laughs.
Or worse, just forgets them entirely.
But no matter how loud the criticism from outside Westwood and Pasadena gets – or how deep the cynicism within the Bruin faithful grows – UCLA football (0-4, 0-1 Big Ten) still has eight more games to play this season.
And its next game against No. 7 Penn State (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) at the Rose Bowl on Saturday will be its first against a ranked opponent since the Nittany Lions defeated the Bruins a year ago.
Interim head coach Tim Skipper’s smile has yet to leave his face despite the failed 17-point comeback attempt against Northwestern that dropped his team to 0-4, with a top-10 opponent looming this weekend.
“When there’s an interim coach, it’s not like everything’s just going great,” Skipper said Wednesday. “You have to adapt and overcome. … It’s hectic times, but you have to deal with it.”
In the wake of Sunseri’s departure, assistant head coach and tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel will take over offensive playcalling duties.
Neuheisel, in many ways, is the last link to much of UCLA football’s history.
His father, Rick Neuheisel – a former quarterback and head coach at UCLA – gave him his scholarship to the school.
Neuheisel played under Jim Mora – as his father was fired before he joined the team in 2012 – as the backup quarterback to Brett Hundley and later Josh Rosen. His defining moment came when he led UCLA to a 20-17 comeback victory over Texas, filling in when Hundley went down in the first quarter.
Neuheisel found himself back in Westwood under former coach Chip Kelly as a graduate assistant and later the wide receivers coach before moving to the tight ends’ room under Foster and being promoted to assistant head coach in December. Neuheisel said he got experience calling plays during practice under Kelly.
Altogether, Neuheisel – who has long dreamt of helming the Bruins and was even born at UCLA – has over 10 years as a player and coach in the program.
“He has a full-rounded professional development for him to be a good play caller, and I’m excited to watch him do his thing,” Skipper said. “He’s paid his dues, and he’s ready to go for that.”
College football athletes can redshirt a year so long as they’ve played four games or fewer that year – and UCLA is coming up on game five. Foster’s firing also signaled the opening of a 30-day transfer window.
But Skipper said no one has left the program so far.
In playing against the Nittany Lions, many will commit to ride or die with this seemingly lost season.
After four straight “slow starts” – each marked by double-digit deficits – Skipper said Neuheisel’s offensive focus Saturday is going to be about getting the ball to playmakers.
One of those spark plugs could be redshirt sophomore wide receiver Rico Flores Jr., who made his return from an ACL injury Saturday after last appearing Sept. 28, 2024.
While Flores has just two touchdowns to his collegiate resume, he boasts 622 career receiving yards on 43 receptions. Additionally, Flores and redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava said they have known each other since participating in youth football camps as kids in Southern California.
“Nico’s a great quarterback,” Flores said. “He puts the ball on the money, so it’s easy. … It felt pretty natural, but I’ve known Nico – we have a long chemistry from when we were little – so it’s not new.”
Hudson Habermehl has been at UCLA since 2019, but the redshirt senior tight end has produced just 364 yards on 31 receptions throughout his college career. Still, with his position coach calling the shots, he could see increased usage Saturday.
Like Flores, Habermehl also suffered an ACL injury. Only Habermehl’s came during Foster’s first spring camp, knocking the tight end out for the entirety of the 2024 campaign before returning in 2025.
“I wasn’t there when we played (Penn State last season),” Habermehl said, reminiscing on the Bruins’ two-score loss at Beaver Stadium. “I was hurt, but I was watching the guys on TV, and I was impressed. … The biggest key this week is focusing on ourselves.”
Despite all the jokes and ridicule thrown UCLA’s way this season, that has not left college football fans and analysts to ignore the rest of the country.
Penn State coach James Franklin has been in the spotlight after his team’s latest 30-24, double-overtime loss to then-No. 6 Oregon on Saturday, which moved him to 4-21 against top-10 teams in his career. And quarterback Drew Allar, a preseason Heisman favorite and potential top-five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, threw for just 137 yards at a 56% completion rate against the Ducks.
The Nittany Lions could very well be looking for a punching bag.
And in the winless Bruins – the only team in the country that has not led a game all season – they may have found one.
But UCLA’s Saturday will be in new hands. And in Neuheisel’s, they appear to be ones that have long waited to hold the Bruins’ play-call sheet at the Rose Bowl.
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