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Week 2 losses enough to make certain people sick

Score one to the Pac-12 for imagery. But, ewwww.

Talk about a regurgitated cliché. Suddenly the analogy du jour is one of purging. Following losses this week, both Washington coach Steve Sarkisian and Utah linebacker Trevor Reilly said they were sick to their stomachs. Only they didn't say that.

"I want to throw up everywhere right now," Reilly said, following a 27-20 loss Utah State on Friday.

Quick! Cover the walls!

"It makes me want to puke, quite honestly," Sarkisian said of his team's 41-3 loss against Louisiana State in Baton Rouge.

That is quite honest. Don't these guys know that bile is vile?

The sentiment is understood, of course. Losing feels like a gut punch and sometimes when you get punched in the gut, stuff comes out. It's just not always very polite.

Ducks down two

Oregon suddenly has had enough injuries in the early season to bring the program to its knees. Of course, the Ducks may want to be ginger with that particular joint. Senior guard Carson York and preseason All-American safety John Boyett will miss the rest of the season due to patellar surgeries.

There is no time linger on their absences, however.

"I don't think anybody thinks about not being able to replace those guys," coach Chip Kelly said. "Everybody feels very bad for the individuals involved, but we've got to move on."

York, the most experienced member of the explosive Oregon offense, underwent surgery Tuesday to repair his right kneecap, which he injured in Saturday's win over Fresno State. For York it was a return to nine months ago, when injured the Patella in the knee in the Rose Bowl.

It's even worse for Boyett, who will have surgery on both knees, according to a report in the Napa Valley Register.

"You have to make up for him," Kelly said. "We can't just hang our heads and say, 'Boy, we lost John Boyett; we can't play anymore.' "

Each player could pursue a medical redshirt, although no information has been released on whether they will. The Ducks host Tennesse Tech, so they should be able to use this week to help bridge the transition.

Stanford, USC look to keep rivalry hot

In recent years, no annual conference game has been more contested.

While the Trojans have been mostly untouchable to other Pac-12 teams, Stanford has had the most success against USC, winning three straight going into Saturday's matchup in Palo Alto and four of the last five. The Cardinal are ranked No. 21 in the nation and nine-point underdogs to the No. 2 Trojans.

"In the last five years, they have probably been three of the most exciting wins you can imagine," second-year Stanford coach David Shaw said.

Last year's certainly was, with the Cardinal winning 56-48 in triple overtime. The most significant win of the bunch may have been in 2008, when the unranked Cardinal went into the Los Angeles Coliseum as 41-point underdogs and stunned the Trojans 24-23.

Of course, USC ends up having a lot of rivals due to its success. Opponents tend to save their best performances for high-ranked opponents (Washington last week a notable exception). And USC already has quite a few traditional rivals, including UCLA and Notre Dame. But Trojans coach Lane Kiffin said there's always room for more, including the Cardinal and, also recently, Oregon.

"I think when you come to a place like S.C. you're going to end up being a lot of people's rivalry," he said. "So I don't know. That's the best way to describe it, we end up being a lot of people rivalry."

Poll update

One fifth of this week's AP Top 25 teams hailed from the Pac-12, the first time so many conference teams appeared in the rankings since Sept. 19, 2010, when you had No. 5 Oregon, No. 14 Arizona, No. 16 Stanford, No. 20 USC and No. 24 Oregon State.

After a big weekend, though, in which three previously unranked Pac-12 teams upset three ranked opponents — the first time that had happened since Jan. 1, 1985 — No. 22 UCLA and No. 24 Arizona joined previously ranked USC (No. 2), Oregon (No. 4) and Stanford (No. 21). —

Stanford-USC results

2011 • Stanford 56, USC 48 (3OT)

2010 • Stanford 37, USC 35

2009 • Stanford 55, USC 21

2008 • USC 45, Stanford 23

2007 • Stanford 24, USC 23 (41-point underdog in L.A.)