Big Ten Officials' Bad Week

Here is one of the controversial plays from Saturday's Indiana-Iowa game. Receiver Terrance Turner scores a touchdown that would have given the Hoosiers a 28-14 lead, but the score is nullified by the replay official.

The reversal helped the Hawkeyes rally for a 42-24 victory, and although Indiana coach Bill Lynch didn't raise a stink afterward, others were doing it for him.

Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star wondered if fans should direct their anger "at an inept group of officials who took 14 IU points off the board with bogus calls on obvious touchdown passes?"

He added: "If IU fans thought they got pick-pocketed at Michigan, this felt more like the Brinks robbery."

(Continue to The Wiz of Odds)

Iowa Lacks Style ... And Substance?

After the 2001 season, the BCS forced the computers remaining in the BCS formula to remove margin of victory (MOV) as an element in their respective algorithms. The reason, ostensibly, is that it discourages teams from running up the score since they wouldn't benefit from it.

Well, they should've asked all the pollsters to remove their eyeballs so they can only check the scores in Braille.

We're more than halfway done in the 2009 season, and the BCS Standings provides a clear picture: Style points matter. Why else would Iowa be ranked fourth despite being the near-unanimous choice as the top team by the computers?

(Continue to BCS Guru)

Weekly Rankings, Iowa No. 1

Not too many changes this week. We've got two 8-0 teams, but Iowa is way ahead of Alabama right now. Why? It's not because the computer isn't factoring in their close calls - my program does contain margin of victory. So let's take a look at what they've each done, going from their best win to worse.

Iowa: @ Penn St (187.16) 21-10, vs Arizona (123.44) 27-17, @ Wisconsin (94.56) 20-10, vs Michigan (58.62) 30-28
Bama: v VA Tech (137.10) 34-24, vs S Carolina (126.39) 20-6, @ Ole Miss (82.29) 22-3, @ Kentucky (48.37) 38-20

Iowa: @ Iowa St (58.54) 35-3, @ Michigan St (12.30) 15-13, vs Arkansas St (-60.94) 24-21, vs N Iowa (I-AA) 17-16
Bama: vs Arkansas (-10.03) 35-7, vs Tennessee (-22.71) 12-10, vs Fla Intl (-154.44) 40-14, vs N Texas (-154.88) 53-7

(Continue to The National Championship Issue)

Pac-10's Race to the BCS

The first BCS Standings have been released and there are a few things that caught my attention. Boise State (.8083), Cincinnati (.7870) and Iowa (7869) are all ranked ahead of USC (.7695). The bottom line is the Trojans are a much better football team than Boise State, Cincinnati and Iowa. If the Trojans continue to win they will eventually pass those teams.

Boise State will be hurt by their remaining schedule. It is highly unlikely that any team that Boise State faces for the rest of the season will be ranked. On the other hand, USC still has to face Oregon (AP #12) and there is a chance that Arizona State and Arizona will be ranked by the time they face the Trojans. The Iowa Hawkeyes still have to play at Michigan State and at Ohio State. The Bearcats have West Virginia, Illinois and Pittsburgh on their schedule. There is a lot of football left and upsets will happen.

(Continue to Inside the Pac-10)

A New Level for Harassment

Normally, Iowa fans are into harassing players from the opposing team, but Hawkeye defensive end Adrian Clayborn learned that's not always the case.

An Iowa City woman was arrested last Saturday during Iowa's game against Arkansas State for harassing Clayborn from the stands. Brittney Mears was seated in the front row of Kinnick Stadium behind the Hawkeye bench.

Clayborn told police he was "distracted and annoyed" by Mears' actions and she was eventually removed from the stadium and charged with third-degree harassment, a simple misdemeanor. It's not the first time Mears, left, has targeted Clayborn.

In June, Mears was warned against making contact with the player, but she continued to drive past Clayborn's workplace while staring at him.

(Continue to The Wiz of Odds)