EUGENE, Ore. – The locals like to call Autzen Stadium the loudest place in college football. But when Jordan Williamson's 37-yard field goal sliced through the cold night air and between the uprights, the only sound was silence.

It was so quiet you could hear a dream die. And nearly hear the celebrations that erupted thousands of miles away in South Bend and Tuscaloosa.

On the most shocking night yet in a season of tumult, Oregon's undefeated season hit the scrap heap in a 17-14 overtime loss to Stanford. Meanwhile in Waco, Texas, Kansas State was being routed by lowly Baylor. The top two teams in America, with the inside track to play each other for the national title come January, performed a synchronized face plant.

Now undefeated Notre Dame and rejuvenated Alabama will assume the most coveted – and pressurized – positions in the nation. The Fighting Irish are a single victory against arch-rival USC from a berth in the BCS championship game. The Crimson Tide must handle

Read More »from Stanford's thrilling OT upset of Oregon throws BCS race into chaos

Maryland and Rutgers are in advanced discussions with the Big Ten about joining the conference, multiple sources have told Yahoo! Sports.

Nothing is official yet, but tentative plans for announcements from the two schools that they are leaving their current leagues could come early next week, sources said. Maryland is a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and Rutgers has been a member of the Big East since 1991.

Their movement would increase Big Ten membership to 14, and would come not long after most college sports observers believed the conference realignment carousel had stopped spinning. Notre Dame’s announcement in September that it would join the ACC while remaining independent in football was thought to be the end of a two-year spasm of realignment that significantly altered the college landscape. Big Ten leadership last spring said it was comfortable with its current 12-school alignment.

[Related: No. 10 Florida State blows out shorthanded Maryland]

But

Read More »from Maryland, Rutgers in serious talks about move to Big Ten Conference

ATLANTA – John Calipari took a shot at Duke on national TV, then claimed amnesia.

C'mon, Cal.

If you take the shot, own the shot.

When ESPN's Andy Katz stuck a microphone in the Kentucky coach's face at halftime of his team's excellent Champions Classic game against Duke, this was the money quote from Cal: "They're flopping all over the place. In the NBA, they'd all be suspended."

Calipari gave voice to what America has been saying for decades now: that Duke players can fall down like Hollywood stunt doubles when the other team drives to the basket. From Tommy Amaker to Bobby Hurley to Steve Wojciechowski to Shane Battier to Jon Scheyer (see: Gordon Hayward drive, 2010 national title game), Mike Krzyzewski's players have drawn a whole lot of charges over the decades.

Many of them have been legit charges, earned with hustling help defense and a willingness to give up their bodies for the cause. And many have been Academy Award efforts by the Blue Devils.

But coming

Read More »from John Calipari accuses Duke of 'flopping' as Kentucky gets knocked down

ATLANTA – Need an acrobatic driving layup to clinch a close game? There’s an App for that.

Need a 3-pointer with the shot clock running out? There’s an App for that.

Need a floater from the left side of the lane, a banker from the right side, a clever alley-oop to a big man? There’s an App for that, too.

Keith Appling celebrates with Denzel Valentine in MSU's win over Kansas. (Getty)

Keith Appling was all those things for Michigan State on Tuesday night in a 67-64 victory over Kansas. At times during his first two years with the Spartans, he was none of those things.

Always a good athlete, freshman Appling struggled with ball handling and decision-making – hence his 53 turnovers and 45 assists. As a sophomore, Appling couldn’t make a jump shot if his scholarship depended on it – hence his 25 percent accuracy from 3-point range.

But now as a junior, Appling is doing what Tom Izzo players inevitably do: growing and developing into a leader and a playmaker.

“Michigan State is a big-time program, it’s always had players who could perform down the

Read More »from Keith Appling's maturation proves vital for Michigan State in clutch win over Kansas

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (antidepressants sold separately in Tuscaloosa):

JOHNNY FOOTBALL: FUN TO WATCH, HARD TO DEFINE

Johnny Manziel (1) is the delicious new flavor of the month in college football, an unconventional talent who did what no player has done the past two years: bring the mighty Alabama (2) defense to its knees. In the process of watching the Texas A&M quarterback carve up the Crimson Tide for 345 yards of total offense and two touchdown passes, America began grasping for the proper comparison to previous dynamic quarterbacks we’ve seen.

He was compared to 1980s Boston College hero Doug Flutie (3), but that’s not right. Manziel has Flutie’s improvisational flair, but he’s bigger and certainly seems faster.

Tim Tebow bows down while playing against LSU. (AP)

He was compared to former Florida Gator Tim Tebow (4), but that’s not right either. Manziel is 35 pounds lighter than Tebow and several inches shorter, and their running styles are very different.

In

Read More »from Forde-Yard Dash: Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel closer to Michael Vick or Tim Tebow?

How do you like expansion now, Mike Slive?

Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M's win over Alabama may have been the SEC's BCS title death knell. (AP)

The commissioner of the Southeastern Conference undoubtedly is happy to have Texas A&M and Missouri in his league for the long haul. But in the short term, it’s the newcomer Aggies who have dealt the biggest blow to the SEC’s quest for a seventh-straight national championship.

When A&M shocked Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, it knocked the Crimson Tide down from first to fourth in the latest BCS standings. ‘Bama now sits behind unbeatens Kansas State, Oregon and Notre Dame, and will need help – a lot of it – to get back to the BCS Championship.

And the person in best position to provide that help is none other than Lane Kiffin.

Yes, the Slive nightmare scenario is now in effect. During the commissioner’s 10-year SEC tenure, his least-favorite coach was Kiffin – the guy who now may be Slive’s last line of (title) defense.

Kiffin, the former annoyance for one season at Tennessee, offers the last realistic chance to beat

Read More »from SEC on outside looking in, may need Lane Kiffin's help to prolong BCS title streak

FORT WORTH, Texas – When it was over Saturday night, Bill Snyder gathered his players in the victorious Kansas State locker room and broke the news: Alabama had lost, and the path was now clear for the Wildcats to be No. 1 in the BCS rankings for the first time in school history.

A huge roar followed as Snyder wrote on the chalkboard, “Two games to South Florida!”

Bill Snyder talks with an official during a time out. (Getty)

Do you believe that scene? Please. It never happened. It never will as long as Snyder is alive and coaching and methodically leading the most buttoned-down program in college football.

There was no announcement. There was no roar. There was no public rejoicing in No. 1 Alabama’s shocking loss, no discussion of this momentous occasion or the monumental opportunity arrayed in front of 10-0 K-State.

“I just found out from you guys,” said safety Jarard Milo, talking to reporters after the Wildcats’ 23-10 victory over TCU.

“Coach Snyder doesn’t like to talk about that stuff,” kicker Anthony Cantele said.

Read More »from Bill Snyder's controlling, methodical approach has Kansas State on verge of history

Unlike college football, there's still no shortage of juicy non-league matchups in basketball. The list of the 25 most intriguing out-of-conference games in November and December:

1. Kentucky at Louisville, Dec. 29: The most passionate rivalry in college basketball. Yes, Duke-North Carolina included. Reached a new level last year when the two met in the Final Four, but this one won't be far behind if the Wildcats and Cardinals maintain their preseason top-three rankings. Added bonus: The super-accomplished, alpha-male coaches detest each other. No matter what they say.

2. Indiana at Kentucky: … Wait, never mind.

3. Kansas at Ohio State, Dec. 22: Rematch of a remarkable Final Four game, in which the Jayhawks staged a late rally to reach the national title game and hand the Buckeyes a stinging defeat. Both are back in the top 10 heading into this season.

4. Championship of the Legends Classic, Nov. 20 in Brooklyn: If the favorites win, that will be Indiana and UCLA. And

Read More »from College basketball's 25 most intriguing non-conference games for November, December