Oct. 21, 2003
The first Bowl Championship Series rankings for 2003 were released Monday and the nationally ranked Iowa Hawkeyes claimed slot No. 15, thanks to a schedule rank that was second best among the 15 schools listed.
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The Bowl Championship Series determines the participants in college football’s national championship game and three other post-season bowl games, including the Rose Bowl.
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Iowa’s BCS point total was 32.07, almost four full points behind No. 14 Texas Christian’s 28.17. Oklahoma (2.77), Miami (4.10) and Viginia Tech (10.23) ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively.
Ohio State (6th, 13.20), Purdue (8th, 21.50), Michigan State (13th, 27.44) were the only other Big Ten Conference teams included.
Iowa’s point total was helped significantly by a “schedule rank” of .40 — second best in the list to Ohio State’s ranking of .20. Schedule rank is defined as the rank of schedule strength compared to other Division I-A teams played divided by 25. The component is calculated by determining the cumulative won/loss records of the team’s opponents and the cumulative won/loss records of the team’s opponents’ opponents.
Iowa was the only team in the top 15 with two losses. The list included five teams — Oklahoma, Miami, Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois and TCU — that were unbeaten thus far in 2003.
Iowa entertains Penn State Saturday at legendary Kinnick Stadium. The game will kickoff shortly after 11 a.m. Iowa time and will be televised live to a regional audience by ABC-TV.