GET THE CORRECT FACTS ON IOWA FOOTBALL
It seems popular for national pundits to criticize the University of Iowa football team these days. Many have said Iowa doesn’t belong on the same board with Florida, Texas, Alabama, Cincinnati, TCU, Oregon or Boise State.
Iowa’s schedule has been rated the seventh toughest in the nation. Only one team in Big Ten history has beaten Penn State, Michigan State and Wisconsin on the road in the same season (Michigan did it in 1997).
The two schools Iowa does not play in the Big Ten this year have the worst overall records (Purdue and Illinois) in the league. To say Iowa hasn’t played a strong enough schedule is to be totally misinformed. Please look at the facts below.
Number of opponents defeated that currently have winning records:
1. Iowa 6
2. Cincinnati 4
TCU 4
4. Oregon 3
5. Boise State 2
Total won-lost records (and winning %) of defeated opponents:
1. Iowa 44-31 .586
2. Oregon 29-28 .508
3. TCU 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. TCU 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. TCU 0
Won-lost records of remaining teams left on schedule:
1. Iowa 17-10 .629
2. Oregon 19-12 .612
3. Cincinnnati 19-13 .593
4. Boise State 20-22 .476
5. TCU 15-17 .468