It's human nature to root for the underdog.

Nobody turns on a game featuring a powerhouse against a patsy and thinks, "Man, it would sure suck if Southwestern Illinois Tech won this game."

I have no problem admitting that I'm no different. I love upsets, and I love seeing top-ranked teams go down against conference bottom feeders.

And while this season has provided plenty of upsets already, I'm more than a little disappointed with one of them.

When Stanford toppled No. 2 USC on Saturday, a lot of people were pleased — and for good reason. Stanford has been absolutely awful lately, and it's always nice to see USC lose a game to a 30+ point underdog.

But there's a more important theme here: The loss hurts the Pac-10.

Since before the season started, the debate has been raging over whether or not the Pac-10 is better than the SEC this year. LSU coach Les Miles even went so far as to say that if the Trojans played in the SEC, there is no way they could go undefeated.

Unfortunately for Pac-10 fans, he's right. LSU is taking on top-notch schools like Florida. USC struggled to get by Washington and lost at home to one of the worst teams in the conference.

It may be an overstatement to say that the Pac-10 needs USC to go undefeated, because there are other teams with a shot.

California vaulted to No. 2 this weekend without even playing, and Arizona State is 6-0. Both of those teams have a legitimate shot at running the table, especially since USC isn't looking quite as daunting anymore.

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh has said repeatedly that USC could be the best team in the history of college football — a statement that he will probably reevaluate now.

And really, that was a big boost for the Pac-10. As long as east coast poll voters who can't stay up late enough to watch USC's games can see that they're still undefeated, the Trojans and the Pac-10 both get respect.

But now, all they'll see is a loss to Stanford. All of a sudden, the conference's Goliath has been slain. With the race wide open, attention will shift to the less storied programs of California and Arizona State.

With the outcome of one game, it seems there is no longer a dominant team in the Pac-10.

That doesn't necessarily mean that the conference is actually any weaker. Stanford proved Saturday that no team is ever safe in the Pac-10. Parity abounds (as usual) and that makes the Pac-10 one of the more exciting conferences in college football.

The only problem with that is nobody else is going to see it that way. East coast media won't see anything more than the scores.

Conclusions will be drawn based on who wins, and by how much. The hype never comes from within, and USC may have blown their cover this weekend. What if the Trojans were just posing all along? What if the media was playing up a USC team that really isn't as good as the Leinarts and Bushes of years past?

The latter is doubtful, but some may see it that way. After all, injuries have plagued the Trojans this season.

But nobody makes excuses for the powerhouses.

USC's loss to Stanford has done irreparable damage to its reputation as one of the nation's top teams.

Unfortunately, it might have done the same to the Pac-10.

[Reach Christian Caple at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.]