Aaron Rodgers loses first game vs. Packers; LSU’s next steps after Brian Kelly; World Series returns Monday

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🏈 Five things to know Monday

1. Aaron Rodgers was outdueled by his successor in his first game against the Packers. Jordan Love led Green Bay’s huge second half in defeating the Steelers on Sunday night, 35-25. Love fired off 20 straight completions at one point, the most by a Packers quarterback since Brett Favre in 2007, and the Packers won in Pittsburgh for the first time since the Bart Starr era. A victory would have made Rodgers only the fifth QB to beat all 32 NFL franchises. He called the team’s performance “disappointing,” but praised Love. 
2. LSU fires Brian Kelly and will pay a massive buyout. The decision to move on from Kelly comes on the heels of a 49-25 loss to No. 3 Texas A&M. Kelly had a 34-14 record in his time with the Tigers, including a 5-3 record this year, but things deteriorated quickly. His enormous buyout of more than $50 million will be the second-highest ever paid to a college football coach. Here’s who the Tigers could target in their search for a replacement. 
3. It was an emotional day for the Jets. The team picked up its first win of the season with a come-from-behind effort vs. the Bengals — but on the same day that former Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold died at 41 after a lengthy battle with kidney disease. “Nick was more than a legendary center. He was the heartbeat of our offensive line for a decade and a beloved teammate whose leadership and toughness defined an era of Jets football,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a statement.
4. Giants running back Cam Skattebo is done for the year. The rookie who pumped a refreshing, never-quit attitude into the Giants suffered a gruesome dislocated ankle during the Giants’ 38-20 loss to the Eagles. He was carted off the field and underwent surgery Sunday night. 
5.  Game 3 of the World Series is tonight as the Fall Classic makes it way to Los Angeles. The Blue Jays and Dodgers traded wins in the first two games. Tyler Glasnow gets the start for the Dodgers against Max Scherzer. (In case you’re wondering, Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to start Game 4 in L.A. Tuesday night.)

🏈 Do not miss this: Steelers-Packers recap, NFL milestones

The Steelers and Packers clashed on “Sunday Night Football,” with Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers facing the team that drafted him. The Packers are the final team Rodgers needed to beat in order to become just the fifth quarterback to defeat all 32 teams in his career, but the Steelers couldn’t get it done at home. 

Green Bay defeated the Pittsburgh, 35-25, moving the Packers to 5-1-1 and the Steelers to 4-3. Things got chippy many times during the game as Rodgers welcomed his old team to Steel City. The Steelers had the lead at halftime, but from there the Packers had total control on both sides of the ball.

Elsewhere, many players across the league reached historic milestones:  

🏈 SEC dominates latest AP poll’s top 10

Week 9 of the college football season didn’t produce many upsets, but there were a couple of close calls. Among them: Alabama scored 15 points in the final 2:16 of the fourth quarter to escape with a 29-22 win over South Carolina, and Virginia held off the best effort of the season from North Carolina to come away from their rivalry with a 17-16 overtime win. 

As such, the latest college football rankings didn’t change much at the top, and the SEC continues to hold down the most spots in the latest AP top 10 with five teams. Among them is Vanderbilt, off to its best start since 1941 and now a real College Football Playoff contender.

However, it is the Big Ten that has the top two teams in the country with Ohio State and Indiana at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Here’s a look at the Week 10 AP poll. First-place votes are in parenthesis. 

1. Ohio State (54) 
2. Indiana (11)
3. Texas A&M (1)
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
6. Oregon
7. Ole Miss
8. Georgia Tech
9. Vanderbilt
10. Miami

⚾ World Series shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4

The 2025 World Series is tied at 1-1 heading into tonight’s game. The Blue Jays won Game 1, defeating the Dodgers 11-4, but L.A. took Game 2. 

In Game 1, the Blue Jays made history with nine runs in one inning, marking the most productive offensive frame in the World Series since 1968. They also had the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history courtesy of Addison Barger batting for Davis Schneider.

Dodgers’ pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the star of Game 2. He had 73 strikes in 105 pitches and became the first pitcher to record consecutive complete games in the postseason since Curt Schilling did so in 2001.

Here’s a look at what each team needs to do to win the World Series from Mike Axisa:

Dodgers:

• Capitalize on pitching mismatches — It will be Tyler Glasnow vs. Max Scherzer in Game 3, and Shohei Ohtani vs. Shane Bieber in Game 4, and the Dodgers have the advantage.
• Get the bottom of the lineup going — Los Angeles’ lineup needs to generate more on offense. 
• Take advantage of home field — The Dodgers have taken home-field advantage away from the Blue Jays after their Game 2 win.

Blue Jays:

• Maximize what Bichette can give — Coming into Game 1, All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette hadn’t played since suffering a knee injury on Sept. 6. The injury is still impacting him as he pushes through, and he moved to second base to help with his limitations.
• Avoiding bullpen fatigue — Toronto’s relief crew has endured a heavy workload this postseason. Games 3-5 will be played over three consecutive days and test the bullpen.
• Limit the freebies — During John Schneider’s three years as manager, the Blue Jays have ranked among the league leaders in intentional walks and sacrifice bunts; they need to limit those “freebies.”

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

📺 What we’re watching Monday

⚽ MLS playoffs, first round: Cincinnati at Columbus, 6:45 p.m. on FS1/Fox Deportes/Apple TV+
🏒 Blues at Penguins, 7 p.m. on NHL Network
🏒 Bruins at Senators, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+
🏀 Cavaliers at Pistons, 7 p.m. on Peacock
⚾ World Series, Game 3: Blue Jays at Dodgers, 8 p.m. on Fox
🏈 Commanders at Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. on ABC/ESPN
⚽ MLS playoffs, first round: Minnesota at Seattle, 9 p.m. on FS1/Fox Deportes/Apple TV+
🏀 Nuggets at Timberwolves, 9:30 p.m. on Peacock