Candice & Roger Boggs

The Iowa football team was eliminated from contention for one Bowl Championship Series slot Saturday.

But its chances for another BCS berth probably were helped by what happened elsewhere around the country.

Ohio State wrenched away the Rose Bowl from Iowa with a 27-24 overtime conquest at Ohio Stadium, but the Hawkeyes might have emerged as the odds-on favorite for the Fiesta Bowl when USC was routed by Stanford.

They won't know their bowl fate for sure until Dec. 5, when the BCS extends its formal invitations, and the remaining bowls make their selections official.

Six of the 10 BCS bowl slots are filled by the champions of the Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, SEC, ACC and Pac-10. Three of the four remaining at-large berths are likely to go to TCU and Boise State, both are unbeaten in non-BCS leagues, and whoever loses the Alabama-Florida battle in the SEC.

USC was considered a strong contender for the remaining spot, but it essentially was eliminated with its loss Saturday. Iowa might be the favorite if it can defeat Minnesota in its regular-season finale Saturday.

Fiesta Bowl officials would love to bring in the Hawkeyes because of the large number of former Iowans living in the Phoenix area. Updated bowl projections by CBSSports.com have Iowa facing Boise State in the Fiesta on Jan. 4.

The Big 12, ACC and Pac-10 are not likely to have runner-up teams that would be as appealing to bowl officials, although the Big East might have a viable candidate if Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati on Dec. 4. That probably would leave both those teams with one loss.

If they don't make the Fiesta Bowl, the Hawkeyes (9-2) would be a prime candidate for the Jan. 1 Capital One Bowl, which gets first pick of the Big Ten teams that don't make the BCS.

"They're definitely in play, but there's a lot of football to be played yet,'' said Steve Hingtgen, an associate director of the Florida Citrus Bowl Association, which oversees the Capital One Bowl. "We've got Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State all playing well. It will be a difficult decision for us. We've got a lot of great teams to choose from."

Hingtgen, who attended Saturday's Iowa-Ohio State game, said the Hawkeyes' victories over both Wisconsin and Penn State help, but he said head-to-head outcomes aren't the only criteria his committee uses.

"All of us who go out and scout games have an opportunity to speak and vote on the team that comes," Hingtgen said. "Some people put a lot of emphasis on it. Some look at other things. We always look for a highly ranked team that will bring fans and create national exposure for our game."

GO HAWKEYES

http://www.qctimes.com/sports/football/college/big-10/iowa/article_587c2182-d234-11de-92bb-001cc4c002e0.html

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