ESPN

I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers.

• Rich Rodriguez says B.J. Denker is Arizona's best quarterback option.
• Taylor Kelly and Jaelen Strong are building chemistry.
• A California notebook including Sonny Dykes' thoughts on the dismissal of Chris McCain.
• The Buffs are excited for their opportunity against Oregon.
• Mark Helfrich weighs in on Lane Kiffin, plus other Oregon notes.
• Oregon State's offensive line is starting to get healthy.
• The Cardinal look like Stanford circa 2011.
• UCLA's offensive coordinator is quite familiar with Utah's offensive coordinator.
• Some potential candidates for the USC job.
• Utah-UCLA will put two of the league's rising quarterback stars on center stage.
• Steve Sarkisian says USC's opening won't be a distraction.
• The Cougars are moving on following their loss to Stanford.
• Athlon offers up some Pac-12 stats for your consideration.

Some Pac-12 numbers for your review.

Number to the left is national rank.

Scoring offense

2. Oregon, 59.8 points per game
3. UCLA, 52.7
11. Arizona State, 44.3
19. Utah, 42.0
20. Oregon State, 41.6
T21. Stanford, 41.3

Total offense
2. UCLA, 614.3 yards per game
3. Oregon, 599.3
5. Washington, 574.0
15. Arizona State, 505.0
16. Utah, 504
19. California, 498.3

Note: Ten Pac-12 offenses average more than 400 yards per game. But Cal shows how yards aren't the end-all. It ranks 10th in the conference in scoring with 29.2 points per game. It would seem we'll see a lot of offense Thursday night when UCLA visits Utah. But you know what should raise the most eyebrows? Stanford averaging 41.3 points per game. The Cardinal averaged 27.9 ppg last year and won the Pac-12.

Rushing offense

1. Oregon, 332.5 yards per game
9. Arizona, 291.5
11. Washington, 288.8
13. UCLA, 284.3

Passing offense

2. Oregon State, 420.6
4. California, 373.0
7. Arizona State, 358.8
12. UCLA, 330.0
14. Washington State, 327.4
25. Colorado, 295.7

Note: On the downside -- Of this group, only UCLA is running the ball well, too. The other five are the bottom five in the conference in rushing, though at No. 8, Arizona State is respectable with 146.2 yards rushing per game.

Scoring defense

T4. Oregon, Washington, 10.8 points per game
12. Arizona, 14.3
29. UCLA, 18.0

Total defense
13. Washington, 288.0
19. USC, 306.8
23. Oregon, 320.5
25. Washington State, 323.8

Yards yielded per play (FBS foes only)

3. Washington, 3.80 yards per play
T4. Oregon, 3.82
18. UCLA, 4.42
19. Arizona, 4.47
23. Stanford, 4.64
29. USC, 4.81
31. Washington State, 4.83

Pass efficiency defense
2. Washington
9. Oregon
13. Arizona
22. USC

Note: What's becoming increasingly clear is Washington's Justin Wilcox is not just a good defensive coordinator, he ranks among the nation's best. He has transformed the Huskies. Of course, the Huskies face Stanford, Oregon and Arizona State over the next three weeks. That will be three HUGE tests for Wilcox and his defense.

Rushing

1. Bishop Sankey, Washington, 151.8
3. Ka'Deem Carey, Arizona, 143.7
5. Jordan James, UCLA, 141.3
17. Tre Madden, USC, 116.6


Note: Three of the nation's top five rushers in the Pac-12? Pretty impressive. It will be interesting to see if James and Madden remain among the nation's top rushers. If the Bruins and James continue to run well, Noel Mazzone's offense will be tough to stop. If the Trojans run the ball as effectively as they did at Arizona State, the passing game with Cody Kessler might get some room to breathe.

Pass efficiency

11. Kevin Hogan, Stanford
12. Keith Price, Washington
15. Travis Wilson, Utah
16. Brett Hundley, UCLA
17. Sean Mannion, Oregon State
21. Marcus Mariota, Oregon

Note: Again, Hogan atop this list should worry all Pac-12 teams. Mannion's 21 TD passes is four more than anyone else in the country, and his second interception of the season, thrown against Colorado, bounced off his receiver's chest. It's not unreasonable to say that if the Beavers hadn't lost to Eastern Washington in the opener, Mannion would be getting a raised eyebrow or two as a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Receiving yards per game

1. Paul Richardson, Colorado, 162.3
2. Brandin Cooks, Oregon State, 161.4
14. Jaelen Strong, Arizona State, 108.3
22. Dres Anderson, Utah, 101.0

Note: Strong is looking every bit like the budding star coach Todd Graham predicted he'd be. Cooks decisively won the battle with Richardson last weekend. If you're looking for a WR to replace USC's Marqise Lee in the Biletnikoff discussion, Cooks is your guy. He's not only stepped out of Markus Wheaton's shadow, he's starting to look like he's better than Wheaton.

Random notes: Stanford and Arizona are tied for second in the nation in tackles for a loss allowed, surrendering just 3.25 per game. Oregon is tied for eighth at 3.75. ... The much-maligned Oregon State defense is 15th in the nation in third down percentage (0.286). The Beavers are also eighth in the nation with eight interceptions. ... UCLA is No. 1, Washington No. 3 and Stanford No. 7 in the nation in third-down conversion percentage on offense. ... Eight of the top 25 players in all-purpose yards come from the Pac-12.

Here's a quick look at Week 6 in the conference. All times are ET.

Thursday


No. 12 UCLA (3-0, 0-0) at Utah (3-1, 0-1) 10 p.m. FoxSports1: UCLA leads the series with Utah 9-2 and the Bruins are 3-2 in Salt Lake. Utah, however, has won two of the last three games, winning in 2007 and 2011 before losing last year 21-14. Utah's leading receiver Dres Anderson’s father Flipper played receiver for UCLA from 1984-87. Flipper Anderson led the Bruins in receiving yards in 1986 and 1987 and ranks 10th in UCLA history with 2,023 career yards. He went on to a 10-year NFL career. Dres Anderson has three straight 100-yard games (103 yards vs. Weber State, 101 vs. Oregon State and a career-high 141 vs. BYU). Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is 6-2 coming off regular-season byes with both losses coming in Pac-12 play (to Washington in 2011 and USC in 2012). Utes QB Travis Wilson is 15th in the nation in passing efficiency. UCLA QB Brett Hundley is 16th. Hundley is 19th in the nation with 282.7 yards passing per game. Wilson is 23rd with 279.5. Both teams also run well. The Bruins average 284.3 yards rushing per game. Utah averages 218.8. Both teams were off last weekend.

Saturday


Washington State (3-2, 1-1) at California (1-3, 0-1) 4 p.m. FoxSports1: California leads the series 44-25-5 and has won eight consecutive meetings. The teams have not met in Berkeley since 2009 after playing the 2011 meeting in San Francisco at AT&T Park, home of baseball’s San Francisco Giants. The Cougars’ last win in the series came at Memorial Stadium, a 48-38 victory in 2002 behind Jason Gesser’s 432 yards and four touchdowns along with Eric Coleman’s blocked punt he returned for a touchdown. Both teams prefer to throw the ball. Cal ranks fourth in the nation with 373 yards per game, while the Cougars are 14th with 329.3 yards per game. Neither runs well, with Cal ranking 97th in the nation in rushing and the Cougs at 121st. Both teams were forced to make QB changes in losses last weekend -- Bears QB Jared Goff due to fumble issues and Connor Halliday due to injury. Nonetheless, it appears that neither team will change starters.


No. 2 Oregon (4-0, 1-0) at Colorado (2-1, 0-1) 6 p.m. Pac-12 Network: Oregon leads the series 9-8, including a 70-14 win last year. The most notable meeting, of course, was the Ducks’ 38-16 win in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2001 season, when Oregon would finish No. 2 behind Miami. The Ducks are second in the nation in scoring offense with 59.8 points per game. They are third in the nation in total offense with 599.3 yards per game. The Ducks lost their first two turnovers of the season last weekend in torrential showers against California. Colorado throws the ball well but can't stop the pass -- it yields 300 yards passing per game. It stops the run well -- 10th in the nation in run defense -- but ranks 103rd in the nation in rushing. That run defense figures to be challenged by the Ducks, who rank No. 1 in the nation with 332.5 yards rushing per game.


No. 22 Arizona State (3-1) vs. Notre Dame (3-2) at AT&T Stadium, 7:30 p.m. NBC: The Sun Devils have lost both previous games with Notre Dame, going down in 1998 and 1999 by scores of 28-9 and 48-17, respectively. In the history of USC and Notre Dame football, a team has played both programs in consecutive weeks on 12 separate occasions. No team has ever won both of those contests. ASU RB Marion Grice has 12 touchdowns through four games this season. In his last seven games dating back to last season, Grice has found the end zone 18 times (13 rushing, five receiving) -- scoring at least one touchdown in each of those contests. In 2013, he is averaging a touchdown every 7.3 times he touches the ball (12 TDs on 87 touches/13.8 percent of touches). Jaelen Strong is off to one of the best starts for a WR in school history, amassing 433 yards (108.2 ypg) on 31 receptions (7.8 rpg) in his first four games. Twenty of those 31 receptions this season have resulted in first downs. He has also drawn six pass interference penalties against him this season, four of which have resulted in first downs, giving him a total of 24 of ASU’s 104 first downs this season (23.1 percent). QB Taylor Kelly is one of just three FBS quarterbacks in 2013 to pass for over 300 yards in each of their starts this season (Sean Mannion of Oregon State and Keith Wenning of Ball State being the others). The Sun Devils haven’t fared well against the run the past three weeks, making Saturday’s matchup intriguing as Notre Dame hasn’t done well running the ball this season. The Fighting Irish rank 93rd nationally in rushing offense (135.5 ypg) while ASU is ranked 92nd nationally in rushing defense (192.3 ypg)


No. 15 Washington (4-0, 1-0) at No. 5 Stanford (4-0, 2-0) 10:30 p.m. ESPN: Washington leads the series 41-38-4 but Stanford had won six of the previous seven games before the Huskies notched a 17-13 upset of the No. 8 Cardinal last year. The Huskies won that game due to a great defensive effort and two big offensive plays: a 61-yard run from Bishop Sankey on a fourth-and-one play and a 35-yard TD catch from Kasen Williams in the fourth quarter. Sankey enters the week as the nation’s No. 1 rusher with 151.8 yards per game. He broke Corey Dillon’s UW record with 40 carries (for 161 yards) last week vs. Arizona. He’s rushed for 100 or more in seven of the last nine and for 200 in two of his last five. Stanford QB Kevin Hogan is 11th in the nation in passing efficiency. Huskies QB Keith Price is 12th. Washington has run over 80 plays in all four games (85, 85, 81, 86).

So how do your Pac-12 reporters stack things up after the season's first five weeks?

Glad you asked.

Kevin's top-25 vote for the ESPN.com power rankings.

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Stanford
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia
6. Clemson
7. Louisville
8. UCLA
9. Washington
10. Florida State
11. Texas A&M
12. LSU
13. Oklahoma
14. Michigan
15. Miami
16. South Carolina
17. Northwestern
18. Baylor
19. Florida
20. Texas Tech
21. Oklahoma State
22. Maryland
23. Arizona State
24. Fresno State
25. Northern Illinois

And here's mine:

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Oregon
4. Stanford
5. Ohio State
6. Florida State
7. Georgia
8. Louisville
9. UCLA
10. Texas A&M
11. Washington
12. Oklahoma
13. Baylor
14. LSU
15. South Carolina
16. Northwestern
17. Miami
18. Oklahoma State
19. Florida
20. Texas Tech
21. Arizona State
22. Fresno State
23. Maryland
24. Michigan
25. Northern Illinois

I will let you go, Ricky. But first, I want you to say..."I ... love ... crepes."

• The firing of USC coach Lane Kiffin might not be a good thing for Arizona.
• Arizona State made a South Division statement with its win over USC.
• California's woes continue with DE Chris McCain getting kicked off the team.
• Colorado WR tries to stay patient after a quiet game at Oregon State.
• Oregon is flashy, yes, but it is also mentally tough.
• The bye week comes at a perfect time for Oregon State, which needs to get healthy.
• Stanford shows a new side with a more dangerous passing game.
• UCLA is rising and USC is falling, but it's no time for the Bruins to gloat (Bruins fans, of course, feel free to let loose with barbaric yawps).
• The challenge now for USC? Hiring the right coach, which is easier said than done.
• Utah's big test will be slowing down UCLA QB Brett Hundley.
• Washington's visit to Stanford features an A-list battle of unbeatens.
• Some thoughts on Washington State's, er, difficult game with Stanford.

ESPN.com's Kevin Gemmell discusses one good thing in the Pac-12: the conference has five teams ranked in the top 25 and four in the top 15.

Taking stock of Week 5 in the Pac-12.

Team of the week: Arizona State’s home victory over USC was an announcement to the rest of the country that the Sun Devils deserve to be ranked, and the country responded by putting ASU back in the Top 25 at No. 22. More important than national perception, however, is that the Sun Devils didn’t fall to 0-2 in conference play, which would have been devastating for the team’s season-long goals. They picked up a South Division win and are still in control of their destiny in the division. One last nonconference game next week against Notre Dame and then it’s all league games the rest of the way -- including a pivotal Oct. 19 game against Washington and the all-important No. 23 game at UCLA.

Best game: In a week where the average margin of victory was 29 points in the five games, the “closest” was Washington’s 18-point victory over visiting Arizona. But there was a sense Washington was in control all 60 minutes. Oregon was fun to watch simply for the fact that not even Mother Nature could play defense against the Ducks. Stanford was fun to watch because the Cardinal looked explosive. Oregon State was fun to watch because it was a complete performance. But the ASU-USC game probably had the most drama. We had an idea of what was at stake, and even when USC cut it to 48-34 with 9:54 left in the game, there was still that lingering thought that maybe it wasn’t over. Of course, ASU scored two more touchdowns to put it away. And the end result was Lane Kiffin’s dismissal.

Biggest play: After USC took a 21-20 lead in the opening minute of the second half, the Sun Devils responded 21 seconds later with a 74-yard touchdown from Taylor Kelly to D.J. Foster. But that wasn’t the biggest play. On USC’s next series, less than a minute later, Alden Darby jumped a Cody Kessler pass and returned it 46 yards for a score, giving the Sun Devils a 34-21 lead less than two minutes into the third quarter. He had two picks on the day, and the pick-six was a massive momentum swing, and it happened while Pat Haden and USC decision-makers were huddling to decide Kiffin’s future.

Offensive standout: Tough to ignore the kind of numbers Sean Mannion is putting up. After matching a school record two weeks ago at Utah with five touchdown passes, he surpassed the record by throwing for six touchdowns and 414 yards in the blowout win over Colorado. He did have an interception, but only because his receiver’s hands and chest got in the way and it was tipped in the air. Mannion now has 21 touchdowns on the year to just two picks.

Defensive standout: Has to be Darby, who totaled seven tackles to go with his two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Defensive standout 1B goes to Stanford’s Trent Murphy. Is there any outside linebacker with better hands? Or does he only show them off at CenturyLink Field? Saturday he intercepted a point-blank pass in the backfield from Austin Apodaca and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. If that looked familiar, he did the same thing last year at the CLink against Washington.

Special teams standout: With four games in the Pacific Northwest Saturday, weather was dominant storyline when it came to special teams. We saw numerous fumbles, bad snaps and weather-induced wackiness. But there was nothing wacky about Oregon’s Bralon Addison, who returned two punts for touchdowns. The first was a 75-yard return in the second quarter that was pure sideline speed. The second, a 67-yard return, required a little more dancing and cutting -- and avoiding being knocked down by his teammate before the play even got started.

Smiley face: The Pac-12 once again has five teams ranked in the Top 25 in both polls with ASU’s victory over USC. And Oregon State is receiving votes in the coaches poll.

Frowny face: Injuries always get a frowny face -- and Saturday saw two of the league’s superstars go down with injuries. Oregon’s De’Anthony Thomas was injured on the kickoff and didn’t return. And USC wide receiver Marqise Lee suffered a knee injury that hopefully looked worse than it really is.

Thought of the week: The Beavers are back, sort of. Oregon State finally strung together a game where its defense matched the offense. And Colorado is a much-improved team from last season. Are the Buffs bowl bound? Probably not. But they aren’t the Buffs of last year, which gives a little credence to Oregon State’s dominating performance. The initial thought was that the Beavers would be 7-0 or 6-1 heading into their Oct. 26 showdown with Stanford. And they might still be (though Washington State isn’t going to make it easy). Not suggesting you go all-in on the Beavers. Remember, they are only a week removed from a miraculous win over San Diego State. But don't sell just yet, either.

Question of the week: The Trojans have a bye week to patch holes and put “Operation: Changing Lanes” in action. Do they look to an NFL name or a college name? UCLA is showing that a former NFL coach can have success in Los Angeles, even if he’s not an alumnus. USC is an attractive gig, and you can bet there were a lot of back-channel phone calls going out over the past 72 hours.

If you don't like where you are in the Power Rankings, play better.

See last week's Power Rankings here.

1. Oregon: Another week, another blowout win. The only worry is RB De'Anthony Thomas' ankle. A visit to Colorado on Saturday doesn't promise much of a test for the Ducks.

2. Stanford: A dominating win in the rain against Washington State. The maturation of a downfield passing game should worry the rest of the Pac-12. The Cardinal look like a team without any obvious holes.

3. Washington: After winning impressively over unbeaten Arizona, the Huskies move up with the Bruins idle. They are 4-0 for the first time since 2001 and have yet to trail this season.

4. UCLA: UCLA had a bye this week, so it got to watch things go splat for its friends at USC. Sure that greatly pained them. At this point, the Bruins top challenger in the South Division appears to be Arizona State. See below. Up next is a potentially tricky trip to Utah on Thursday.

5. Arizona State: While we can speculate on what USC brought to Tempe, the Sun Devils' offense positively dominated a defense that had been the Trojans' lone bright spot. The ASU run defense, however, continues to be a major concern.

6. Oregon State: The Beavers have steadily climbed since their opening loss to Eastern Washington. Sean Mannion to Brandin Cooks is the best pass-catch combination in the conference, and the defense seems to be finding itself. A week off to get healthy is a good thing.

7. Utah: The Utes were off over the weekend. UCLA visits Salt Lake City on Thursday. Utah, meet opportunity. Opportunity, meet Utah.

8. Arizona: There was some grit shown on both sides of the ball at Washington, but the Wildcats got worn down. The defense is better, yes, but it's not ready to dominate. And the offense shows few signs of having a Pac-12-quality passing game.

9. Washington State: Stanford showed the Cougars how far they are from the top third of the conference. A visit to California on Saturday could, however, show how far the Cougs are from the bottom now. Seems like a critical game for bowl hopes.

10. Colorado: The Buffaloes looked rusty at Oregon State, but they also looked overmatched. While the 2-0 start was encouraging, the start of conference play reminded folks that this is still a major rebuilding job.

11. California: A mix of torrential rain and a pass-happy offense is not a good thing. It's even worse when the opponent is No. 2 Oregon. The Bears could use a more manageable foe. Washington State could provide that. But is there a QB controversy?

12. USC: When your coach gets fired midseason, you end up right here. Of course, some USC fans feel better today than they did a week ago.

The Pac-12 again has five teams ranked in both the AP and coaches poll after Arizona State pounded USC 62-41 on Saturday.

The Sun Devils were ranked No. 22 by the AP and No. 24 by the coaches.

Oregon, which is receiving No. 1 votes in both polls, was ranked second behind Alabama. Stanford was fifth in both polls.

Clemson was third in the AP and fourth in the coaches poll, the reverse of Ohio State.

UCLA, which was off this week, moved up to 12th in the AP poll and 13th with the coaches. Washington is 15th with the AP and 18th with the coaches.

The Pac-12 game of the week is Washington's visit to Stanford, the second matchup this season of ranked Pac-12 teams.

Another week of bowl projections for you. These are only for entertainment purposes. Do not make travel plans just yet.

VIZIO BCS National Championship (Jan. 6, 2014): Oregon vs. BCS
Rose Bowl Game Presented by VIZIO (Jan. 1, 2014): Stanford vs. Big Ten
Valero Alamo Bowl (Dec. 30): UCLA vs. Big 12
Holiday Bowl (Dec. 30): Washington vs. Big 12
Hyundai Sun Bowl (Dec. 31): Arizona State vs. ACC
Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 21): Arizona vs. MWC
Fight Hunger Bowl (Dec. 27): Oregon State vs. BYU
Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 21): Washington State vs. MWC
New Era Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 28): USC vs. American
Heart of Dallas Bowl (Jan. 1, 2014): Utah vs. Conference USA

The problem with coaching USC is you're coaching USC. If you don't really understand what that means, then you're doomed to fail.

That's the lesson learned by Lane Kiffin, who was fired shortly after the team's charter flight landed in Los Angeles early Sunday morning after his team's 62-41 loss at Arizona State, the school announced before any reporter could claim the news story prize.

Kiffin went 28-15 in three-plus years while the Trojans were buried under difficult NCAA sanctions, but the key span is the past 11 games. He lost seven of those, essentially starting a downturn just after folks started to wonder if he actually might be a good coach.

If you can recall USC in December 2011, the Trojans were coming off an impressive 10-2 season that included a win at Oregon. Quarterback Matt Barkley shocked many when he announced in front of a strategically placed Christmas tree during a Heritage Hall news conference that he would return for his senior season to take care of "unfinished business."

That, of course, meant a Pac-12 and national title.

The Trojans headed into the 2012 offseason overbrimming with talent and expectations. They were ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP poll. Yet, little thereafter went well. And that falls, not unfairly, on Kiffin.

He just never seemed capable of getting out of his own way and just coaching his collection of athletes, which in just about every case were more physically talented than the guys on the other side of the field.

Did USC have depth issues due to scholarship reductions? Sure. But that didn't change the fact that the area where USC consistently seemed to be most lacking was coaching, in terms of preparation, motivation and execution. And the offensive play calling, which Kiffin refused to give up despite pointed criticism, was fundamentally flawed in one simple way: The plays Kiffin called more often than not didn't work.

He too often tried to be clever or tricky. He also seemed to react poorly when things weren't going well. An early sack or turnover would seemingly spook him into an overly conservative plan. His complicated schemes seemed simplistic and predictable in execution compared to simpler schemes from other Pac-12 programs that seemed more imaginative and effective.

Further, USC had been eclipsed not only in the Pac-12 by Oregon and Stanford, it also had lost ground to its previously struggling rivals, UCLA and Notre Dame. Trojans fans are demanding as a whole, but losing to the Bruins and Fighting Irish is a deal-breaker.

Kiffin was most consistent as a recruiter, even with scholarship limitations. But the downturn even caught up with that. The Trojans presently have only seven commitments, and they are not ranked among the nation's top 40 classes.

USC remains one of the nation's best college coaching jobs. The high school talent in the surrounding area is among the best in the country. The school also has the resources to make the next coach among the nation's highest paid.

Athletic director Pat Haden likely decided to make a decisive move now so he could get a head start on his search. No sense in allowing the ship to continue to sink. He'll immediately start getting back-door feelers from NFL and college head coaches and top assistants -- many probably already have made inquiries. Lots of names will circulate, from Boise State's Chris Petersen, to St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher, to Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, to Washington coach Steve Sarkisian, to Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin.

Kiffin was unquestionably burdened with tougher circumstances than many coaches who take over college football superpowers. Yet such an explanation only goes so far in this win-now age.

While he flickered potential during the 2011 season, his ultimate downfall was this: His teams never consistently looked like USC should. And he never consistently looked like a guy who should be fronting USC.

So who deserves a helmet sticker for a job well done?

Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State: Cooks was the best player on the field in Corvallis, decisively winning his battle with Colorado WR Paul Richardson in the Beavers' 44-17 victory. Cooks caught nine passes for 168 yards (18.7 yards per catch) with two touchdowns. He also rushed five times for 47 yards.

Sean Mannion, QB, Oregon State: Cooks was brilliant, but Mannion was also stellar, throwing six touchdown passes, a new team record. He completed 27 of 52 passes for 414 yards with an interception in the blowout win. That pick, by the way, bounced off the chest of his receiver, so it shouldn't count against him.

Bishop Sankey, RB, Washington: Sankey set a school record with 40 carries in the Huskies' 31-13 win over Arizona. He gained 161 tough yards and scored a TD.

Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State: Kelly completed 23 of 34 passes for 351 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in the Sun Devils' 62-41 win over USC. He also rushed for 79 yards on just four carries -- 19.8 yards per pop.

Alden Darby, S, Arizona State: Darby had two interceptions against USC, including one he returned 46 yards for a touchdown. He also forced and recovered a fumble and tied for second on the Sun Devils with seven total tackles

Bralon Addison, PR, Oregon: Addison returned two punts for touchdowns against California, the first for 75 yards and the second for 67 yards.

Devon Cajuste, WR, Stanford: The big receiver was the star of the Cardinal's new downfield passing game. He caught four passes for 115 yards in their 55-17 win over Washington State, including touchdowns of 57 and 33 yards.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- It was blowout Saturday in the Pac-12. It was not a day and evening for subtlety. It was a time for loud butt kickings. Substantive statements were made in Seattle, Eugene and Tempe. And there was one notable whimper.

That whimper came from USC coach Lane Kiffin, whose Trojans were battered by Arizona State 62-41. It was the most points the Sun Devils have ever scored against USC. That sort of ignominy, coupled with an 0-2 start in Pac-12 play, pushed the likelihood Kiffin will be fired further from the speculative and toward the certain. All Kiffin could do afterward was show growing resignation about the crescendoing "hot seat" talk.

"I'm fine with that," he said. "I have been dealing with that for 12 months. That's fine. That's the last thing I'm worried about. We have to find a way to coach better and play better and get our backups ready."

The most notable backup will be whoever replaces Biletnikoff winner Marqise Lee. The unanimous All-American hurt his left knee in the fourth quarter and was carted off the field.

"Obviously it didn't look very good," Kiffin said. "It didn't sound very good or look very good, so that's all I got for you."

USC's wasn't the only dreary losers' locker room, as some harsh reality was delivered by conference favorites on Saturday.

The average margin of victory in Pac-12 games among Oregon, Stanford, Arizona State, Oregon State and Washington was 29 points. The closest game was Washington's 31-13 win over Arizona. The biggest margin was Oregon's 55-16 battering of California. Stanford humbled Washington State 55-17, while Oregon State brought Colorado back to earth with a 44-17 victory.

The Sun Devils made a statement in the South Division a week after getting pushed around at Stanford. They, by the way, are the only South Division team that owns a conference victory at this point.

It was an impressive bounce-back win for the Sun Devils, who gained 612 yards, their most since piling up 667 yards in a loss to Oregon in 2000. QB Taylor Kelly passed for 351 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 79 yards. Touchdown-generating machine Marion Grice scored twice rushing and twice receiving. With 12 touchdowns this season, he seems likely to continue to lead the nation in scoring again this week.

The Sun Devils scorched a defense that hadn't yielded more than 285 yards or 14 points in its first four games. The offensive fireworks helped background a struggling run defense, one that yielded 247 yards to the Trojans.

While Arizona State made the first move in the South Division, the two North favorites, Oregon and Stanford, playing in the rain-soaked Northwest, continued to look like the lords of the Pac-12 manor.

The Ducks jumped all over mistake-prone Cal, grabbing a 27-0 lead in the first quarter and coasting home. The Ducks needed only 381 yards to score 55 points because of five Bears turnovers, including four fumbles.

Stanford did a slower mash on Washington State, turning a 17-3 halftime lead into a second-half laugher. The Cardinal scored touchdowns on a pair of pick-sixes, and a reinvigorated downfield passing attack included three scoring strikes from QB Kevin Hogan.

Looking up at the Ducks and Cardinal in the North are Washington and Oregon State. The 16th-ranked Huskies took down previously unbeaten Arizona behind 161 yards from RB Bishop Sankey, who did his damage with a school record 40 carries. Oregon State got a school record six touchdown passes from Sean Mannion while whipping Colorado.

The Huskies can make a big statement in the North next Saturday at Stanford. Washington upset the Cardinal last year in Seattle, but that was before Hogan took over at quarterback.

That's the headliner game in the conference next week. Arizona State will play Notre Dame in Cowboys Stadium, giving the Pac-12 another shot at being loud in nonconference play.

There was no fourth-quarter excitement on Saturday in Pac-12 games. But not only thrillers are meaningful.

While the Pac-12 has been lauded for its depth over the first quarter of the season, what Blowout Saturday made clear is there remains a clear line of demarcation between the teams in the top-half and the bottom half.

And USC's apparently being in the bottom half is going to be a problem for Kiffin.