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This week’s mailbag is just like last week’s. Only better!

Pete in Austin, Texas writes: Do you see any way the Beavers could get into the top 25 before they play Stanford?

Kevin Gemmell: The Beavers are slowly starting to rebuild their brand. But losing to an FCS team is a stigma that isn’t easily washed away. Stuff like that sticks with voters, and many will continue to punish the Beavers in the rankings long after it’s probably warranted. A slow start against Hawaii and a miracle win over San Diego State didn’t help the cause.

Let me ask you, Pete, even if Oregon State is 6-1 when the Stanford game rolls around, do you think they’d be worthy of a top 25 spot based on their six wins? Because I’m not sure that I do.

Oregon State’s first seven games were already seen as games they should win -- so dropping one of them is a dent in their perception. Dropping one to an FCS team (an FCS team that is now 2-2, by the way, following back-to-back road losses at Toledo and at Sam Houston State) is a gash in the side of the hull.

I give a ton of credit to Mike Riley for holding this thing together amid all of the defensive injuries. He’s got Sean Mannion playing like a first-round draft pick and he’s convinced his team that the Week 1 snafu was more aberration than actuality.

But top 25? They may pick up a few votes at 6-1, but I don’t see enough to get them back in the rankings. Beat Stanford, and then we’ll talk.

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Richard in Fort Hood, Texas writes: Marion Grice of ASU seems to get no national attention why is that? He leads the nation in total touchdowns rushing/receiving combined. He had 4 against Stanford and 4 against USC. Is he the most underrated player in the conference? Also DJ Foster also seems to be lost in the conversation around the PAC12 but he’s just as deadly.

Gemmell: I wouldn’t say Grice is underrated in the conference. People in these parts know who he is and what he’s capable of.

Nationally? That’s a different story. It’s a bit like how folks treated De'Anthony Thomas the last couple of years. Is he a running back? Is he a receiver?

Yes.

Grice is a hybrid. A hybrid that has an outstanding nose for the end zone. But he only averages 3.9 yards per rush. And he only has 256 yards. But then again, he’s also got eight rushing touchdowns and four receiving touchdowns.

If “hybrid” was a defined role, I think we’d hear a lot more about Grice nationally. But when you look at the top running backs, does he fit? Maybe, but he doesn’t have the same measurables as some of the other backs in the league. Same for receiving numbers. His lack of national hype is a product of the system Arizona State runs and the role he plays within that system.

Some national recognition would be nice. But the folks in the Pac-12 know what they are up against when going against Grice. And league-wide respect goes a lot further than glancing national recognition.

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Clemson fans everywhere write: Idiot, dummy, grumble, gumble, fool, nitwit, nincompoop – how could you rank Georgia ahead of Clemson -- grumble, grumble. Ted Miller is a genius. Grumble, grumble, pinhead, ninny, imbecile, dork.

Gemmell: I threw in nincompoop on my own, but that’s the gist of multiple notes.

Everyone has their own system of ranking. Personally, I don’t give as much weight to Week 1 games as some others might (the exception being losses to FCS teams, see above). Teams have had extra time to prepare for that game and it’s not always the strongest measuring stick. Just to localize it a little bit from a Pac-12 perspective, Washington’s Week 1 win over Boise State isn’t quite as signature today as it was three weeks ago now that Broncos are 3-2. (Oh yeah, for everyone who ripped me for not having Boise in my Week 1 top 25, all I'm hearing are crickets …).

I remember last year when I took heat for being one of the first to put Clemson back in the top 10 and not punishing them as much for the Florida State loss as some others did. Where were you guys then? Huh!? Huh!?

To me, Clemson’s three-point win at home in the season opener doesn’t carry as much weight as what Georgia has done since then. It lost to Clemson, a top 10 team, on the road and I rightfully dropped the Bulldogs (I think 10 spots). But since then Georgia has beaten two top 10 teams in South Carolina and LSU. It's 3-1 with three of four games against top 10 teams. That’s bought them enough credibility, for now, to overtake Clemson, which has done nothing but paste South Carolina State and Wake Forest and dispose of a so-so NC State team.

Right now, in my mind, Georgia has the more impressive resume. But that doesn't mean things will stay the same a month from now. If Clemson is still undefeated after its two week stretch against Florida State and Maryland, it will have an argument for moving up. Especially because Georgia’s schedule ramps down with Tennessee, Missouri and Vanderbilt -- all games Georgia should win. If all things are equal on Halloween -- an undefeated Clemson team and a one-loss Georgia team -- that would mean Clemson has added two top 25 wins and is still undefeated. And then you’ll see them -- at least on my ballot -- ahead of Georgia.

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Brett in Price, Utah writes: I came across this article from 2010 written by Pat Forde. As a Utah fan, it is a shame to see USC fall this far. Although, I am not sure what exactly they were thinking with when they hired Kiffin. Another interesting fact, Kyle Whittingham is the only coach to have survived the PAC 12 South since its inception. No real questions, just observations. Thanks for the blog! I love reading it. Go Utes!!

Gemmell: Thanks Brett. I recall reading that piece too with great interest. I was still at the San Diego paper at the time, but had made a few trips up to UCLA and USC for some offseason features, etc. And I remember thinking Pat was either going to eat a lot of crow in a few years or look pretty darn smart. Right now, he’s looking pretty darn smart.

Good observation on Whittingham. Crazy to think that we’re only in the third season of “Pac-12” and there are no holdover coaches from that division from the Pac-10 days. Coaching continuity is huge. And I think Utah has already made significant strides this season. In another couple of years, they’ll be ready to make a push into the tier of South contenders.

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Oscar in Irwindale, Calif. writes: Hey Kevin! I know it’s just rumors and the details are sketchy but what’s the deal with the whole leaving Lane Kiffin at the airport deal! I just hope it’s not true and USC has more class then that! Just saying.

Gemmell: Not true. His car was at the airport, per Chris Huston at Heismanpundit.com I know Chris. I consider him a friend and I trust his reporting.

Right now it's open-season schadenfreude for anyone and everyone that Kiffin directly or indirectly offended, tweaked and irked. And they aren’t shy about coming out of the woodwork to make an already uncomfortable situation look even worse.

As for the timing? Meh. Makes no difference in my mind if it was at 3 a.m. or 7 a.m. Gone is gone.

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Brady in Seattle writes: Admit it Kevin. You've been hoping for a long time for Kiffin to get fired just so you could refer to it as "Operation changing Lanes". Well played, my friend. Kudos.

Gemmell: Thanks Brady. It’s funny you brought that up. My wife -- a high school English teacher and the hardest editor I’ve ever had -- sent me an email Monday morning indicating that since I used “Lanes,” plural, that would indicate that another person named Lane would have to be the new coach.

It’s a fair criticism from my significantly better half. The only Lane I could come up with was Lane Meyer? (I want my $2).

Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion has been named the Pac-12 offensive player of the week, along with ASU safety Alden Darby as defensive player and Oregon WR/KR Bralon Addison as special teams player.

Some more on the trio per the league’s release:

Mannion, a junior from Pleasanton, Calif., set a school record with six touchdown passes in a single game in the Beavers’ 44-17 victory over Colorado at Reser Stadium. Mannion completed 27 of 52 passes for 414 yards and one interception as the Beavers move to 2-0 in Conference play and 3-1 overall. He now has 21 touchdowns on the year and 52 in his career, good for third-most in program history. Mannion leads the nation in passing yards per game (403.6 ypg) and total offense (390.2 ypg). He is also on pace to throw 50 touchdown passes this season, which would rank fourth in the NCAA record book. The honor is the second for Mannion in three weeks and marks the first Pac-12 multi-award winner in 2013.

Darby, a senior from Long Beach, Calif., racked up two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the Sun Devil’s 62-41 win at home against USC on Saturday night. His fumble recovery led to an ASU field goal that put the Sun Devils ahead 20-14 before the half, while his 46-yard interception return extended the lead to 34-21 and was the second of four straight ASU touchdowns in the quarter. Darby was also third among tacklers in the game with seven, including five solo tackles.

Addison, a sophomore from Missouri City, Texas., returned two punts for 142 yards and a Conference-record tying two touchdown returns in the Duck’s 55-16 win over California on Saturday. He returned punts of 75 and 67 yards for scores in heavy rains in Eugene and is first in the country in punt return average (36.50 ypg). Thanks to Addison, Oregon is third-best in the nation in punt return average (24.78 ypg).

Also nominated for offensive player of the week honors were running backs/tailbacks Marion Grice of Arizona State, Byron Marshall of Oregon, Justin Davis of USC and Bishop Sankey of Washington; and wide receiver Devon Cajuste of Stanford. Also nominated for defensive player of the week honors were linebackers Trent Murphy of Stanford and Princeton Fuimaono of Washington; defensive end Scott Crichton of Oregon State; and cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu of Oregon. Also nominated for special teams player of the week honors were kickers Zane Gonzalez of Arizona State, Travis Coons of Washington and Oregon State safety Zack Robinson.

There is something undeniably reprehensible about dancing on the grave of a fallen coach. The celebration of a person's perceived failure at his life's work is unseemly. We all know big-time college coaches are big boys who are paid well. We all know that now-terminated USC coach Lane Kiffin brought on much of the ill will he received by how he conducted himself.

Still, the nationwide cackling over Kiffin getting fired in the early morning hours Sunday doesn't represent a high moment in our sports culture.

This grab for measured compassion is made here, however, because of a cold and unfortunate reality that will seem like another potshot at Kiffin. Outside of the Kiffin household, the folks most unhappy about his getting pink-slipped are coaches, administrators and fans of the other 11 Pac-12 teams. And probably some fans of other national powers who have moved on from chortling about Kiffin's fate to asking the most important question.

What if USC now hires its Nick Saban? Or, to localize it: Pete Carroll, take two?

Because the right coach at USC competes for national titles on a regular basis. The tradition is there. The facilities, once below standard, are vastly improved. The rich recruiting territory is there. And the ability to ante up big checks for an A-list coach and his staff is there.

Further, the next coach won't be freighted with the ready-made and mostly legitimate excuse Kiffin made when things went wrong on the field: NCAA-mandated scholarship reductions that made the USC roster thinner than those of their opponents. Those end after the 2014 recruiting class and season. The next coach can make the program whole in 2015, his second season.

USC, with 85 scholarships and the right coach, will immediately challenge Oregon and Stanford atop the Pac-12, and Alabama, LSU and Ohio State, etc., for national supremacy.

That's why the other Pac-12 schools are mourning Kiffin's departure. While he was tough to compete with on the recruiting trail -- his clear strength -- other schools were hoping that Kiffin would become the Trojans' "Meander Coach." That's the sort of coach rival teams want to stay atop a college football superpower, such as USC.

A Meander Coach is a coach who does just enough to hang on for several years but falls short of program standards. While not a complete disaster, he allows a program to slip a few notches in the conference and national pecking order. Good examples of this would be Bob Davie at Notre Dame, Ray Goff at Georgia and Earle Bruce at Ohio State.

A Meander 2013 season for USC under Kiffin would have been 9-4 in a 13-game schedule. Kiffin probably would have coached the Trojans in 2014 with that record, particularly if it included a win over Notre Dame or UCLA. But athletic director Pat Haden had seen enough through a 3-2 start, capped by a humiliating 62-41 loss at Arizona State on Saturday, to understand that barely good enough was not even going to happen. So he made his move.

Now the hope around the Pac-12 and the nation is that Haden gets his coaching pick wrong. Haden, a former USC and NFL quarterback and Rhodes scholar, is extremely bright and knowledgeable about football, but the odds are pretty good he will get it wrong. After all, to get from John McKay and John Robinson to Carroll, USC had to go through Ted Tollner, Larry Smith and Paul Hackett. Just as Alabama had to go through Mike DuBose, Dennis Franchione and Mike Shula to get to Saban. Notre Dame and Tennessee also can teach lessons about superpowers struggling to find the right guy.

Former AD Mike Garrett's hiring of Carroll? Complete luck. It was a desperation move after Garrett was turned down by Dennis Erickson, Mike Bellotti and Mike Riley. The Carroll hiring also was widely panned when it was announced. He was seen as a slightly goofy chatterbox and washed-out NFL coach. Perceptions changed, but only because the wrong hire turned out to be right.

One benefit Haden has bought himself with a midseason termination is time. While plenty of other teams are going to fire their head coaches, Haden is the first in the ring. While it's certain he already has a short list of favorite candidates that probably is not unlike the lists every publication has written up since Kiffin was fired, he also can sit back a few weeks and get a measure of who's interested. There will be plenty of back-channel feelers from agents of NFL head coaches and assistant coaches as well as college head coaches and assistant coaches.

A successful precedent for Haden to consider is Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne's handling of the transition from Mike Stoops to Rich Rodriguez. Just like Haden, Byrne fired Stoops midseason after an embarrassing loss before a bye week and installed a veteran coach, Tim Kish, as his interim head coach. He then conducted a stealth coaching search over the next six weeks, breaking the news of his hiring of Rodriguez on Twitter.

Byrne gave himself a head start with the hiring process. He got his first choice hired before the season ended and gave his new coach a head start with recruiting. He also accelerated the getting-to-know-you phase compared to all the other teams looking for a new head coach in December. Byrne even received a boost from Kish's version of the Wildcats, who won three of their final six games, including a win over archrival Arizona State.

Other Pac-12 coaches are now fretting the same thing happening with the Trojans: What if USC suddenly starts playing inspired football under interim coach Ed Orgeron? It's entirely possible the Trojans will be a better team going forward, meaning the Sun Devils are grateful Haden didn't take action after the Trojans lost at home to Washington State on Sept. 7.

As for Haden's coaching search, it will be a bit more high-profile than Byrne's. The Trojans are a national team. So in the next few weeks there will be a cacophony of public denials. They will be meaningless. Saban repeatedly said without ambiguity that he wasn't leaving the Miami Dolphins for Alabama. Until he did. And who knew that Bret Bielema was so eager to bolt Wisconsin for Arkansas?

The two biggest problems the USC coaching search encountered after Carroll bolted for the Seattle Seahawks that led to the Kiffin hiring are gone: (1) upcoming NCAA sanctions, and (2) no one wanting to be the guy-after-the-guy.

So know that just about everybody is in play. Until they're not.

The Pac-12 and the college football nation didn't feel too good about Kiffin in 2011, when he led the Trojans to a 10-2 record and won at Oregon and Notre Dame. But in the past 18 games, they embraced his USC tenure. They wanted him inside Heritage Hall as long as possible.

Now there is worrisome uncertainty among 11 other Pac-12 teams, not to mention folks like SEC commissioner Mike Slive and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany. If Haden hires the right guy, the Trojan colossus will dust itself off and rise with a cocky grin. Rose Bowls and national championships will shortly follow.

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.

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.