For the first time in history, the Iowa Hawkeyes are 9-0 (which is obvious to those of you who are reading this) and the National Title is something Iowa fans have been able to discuss for the first time since 1985. Unfortunately this year - despite its magical feel and potential undfeated record - the title game will elude Iowa again.

The formula for success is something even the Univ of Iowa medical research staff will struggle with. First, if Iowa finishes undefeated, and Texas remains undfeated, and either Florida or Alabama finish undefeated (since only one can finish undfeated in the SEC), Iowa will be the odd man out watching Texas play Florida/Alabama for the National Title.

For Iowa to play in Pasadena on Jan 7 (for the BCS Championship) instead of Jan 1 (for the Rose Bowl), some combination of Texas, Flordia and/or Alabama losing must take place. It is highly unlikely at this point that any of them will lose until Florida and Alabama play for the SEC title. Texas faces no real challenge, even for the Big 12 title game, and control their destiny. Of course any one of the teams, or all three can potentially lose if they do not play the "A" games, but again the chances are slim.

And all of that is moot if Iowa does not finish the season strong with victories against a tough Northwestern, at Ohio State, and against rival Minnesota. Assuming Iowa finishes undefeated, they will have beat both preseason Big 10 powers Penn State and Ohio State. And will be the first Big 10 team to beat Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State on the road since George Washington had real teeth.

While the odds stack highly against Iowa this year, they have earned the right to be considered for the BCS Championship. They have one of the toughest defenses in all of college football and one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the game right now. Despite their early stumbles, they always hold strong and bounce back in the second half. They have earned their 9-0 start and deserve Top 5 BCS credibility.

Chew on these numbers for a minute (and ask yourself, "Where is Texas, Florida or Alabama?":

Number of opponents defeated that currently have winning records:

 

 

1. Iowa	6
2. Cincinnati	4
Texas Christian	4
4. Oregon	3
5. Boise State	2

Total won-lost records (and winning percentage) of defeated opponents:

1. Iowa	44-31	.586
2. Oregon	29-28	.508
3. Texas Christian	34-33	.507
4. Cincinnati	30-36	.454
5. Boise State	27-37	.421

Total won-lost records of opponents defeated in their home stadiums (i.e. road wins)

 

 

 

 

1. Iowa	23-12	.657
2. Texas Christian	19-14	.575
3. Cincinnati	21-20	.512
4. Boise State	14-18	.437
5. Oregon	6-10	.375

Number of defeated opponents ranked in current BCS top 25:

 

1. Iowa	3 (Penn State, Arizona, Wisconsin)
Oregon	3 (USC, Utah, California)
3. Boise State	1 (Oregon)
4. Cincinnati	1 (South Florida)
5. Texas Christian	0

Won-lost records of remaining teams left on schedule:

1. Iowa	17-10	.629
2. Oregon	19-12	.612
3. Cincinnati	19-13	.593
4. Boise State	20-22	.476
5. Texas Christian	15-17	.468

(stats courtesy HawkeyeFootball.com)

Mr Pressbox
"Where the view is great and the food is catered."