October 28, 200916 yr Several teams remain alive in the BCS title game hunt. But outside of the Big Three (Florida, Texas, Alabama), only two BCS conference teams are still unbeaten -- Iowa and Cincinnati. And both are the subject of considerable debate. So let's break it down now with Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg and Big East blogger Brian Bennett. Brian Bennett: First of all, Adam, do you think either the Hawkeyes or the Bearcats are worthy of playing for the national title this season? Adam Rittenberg: Brian, I think both teams are worthy, and before getting to each case, let's look at the sport as a whole. Who is really good this year? Florida has flaws, Alabama has flaws, Texas has flaws, USC certainly has flaws. The most dominant teams to me have been TCU, Boise State and yes, your Cincinnati Bearcats, but those teams will always face questions about overall strength of schedule. When it comes to Iowa, I know the Hawkeyes don't win many style points with the voters outside the Big Ten region. I know they should have beaten Arkansas State and Northern Iowa by a lot more. But trust me, it can't be understated how hard it is for a team to go into State College, Madison and East Lansing and come out with victories. If Iowa completes its road circuit with a win at Ohio State, I don't know how you leave that team out of the title chase. So let's hear it. Make your case for Cincinnati. Are they worthy? I feel like Wayne and Garth right now. BB: Party time, it's excellent. (We're dating ourselves here, Adam.) Well, Cincinnati has been simply dominant, winning its three Big East games by an average of 27 points. Two of those were on the road. In fact, the Bearcats are 4-0 on the road, including a 10-point victory at Oregon State. Mighty USC just beat those same Beavers by 7 at home. Look at the national statistics, and Cincinnati is everywhere: second in scoring offense, 11th in scoring defense, first in sacks, third in turnover margin, ninth in kickoff returns. This is a complete, well-rounded football team with a couple of real stars on offense (Tony Pike, Mardy Gilyard) and one of the best coaches in the business right now, Brian Kelly. Iowa has had a great year, but I just can't shake those close shaves to Northern Iowa and Arkansas State out of my mind. Can a team that has as much trouble scoring as the Hawkeyes do really be taken seriously as a national championship contender? http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/6036/blogger-debate-iowa-vs-cincinnati&ex_cid=MyESPNToday_Team
October 28, 200916 yr Iowa is getting bit by the injury bug, lost there best RB for the season and a starting lineman.
October 28, 200916 yr People keep lamenting the closeness of the USC-Oregon State game. USC was up 20 in the fourth quarter and put it into cruise control. OSU never had the ball with the chance to tie and go for win. Comparing scores is not a great barometer to go by if you ask me.
October 28, 200916 yr The bottomline is that if both are undefeated, Iowa will have solid signature wins, UC not so much.
October 28, 200916 yr Author People keep lamenting the closeness of the USC-Oregon State game. USC was up 20 in the fourth quarter and put it into cruise control. OSU never had the ball with the chance to tie and go for win. Comparing scores is not a great barometer to go by if you ask me. While obviously not the best way to compare teams, how else is there to compare UC to a USC? UC winning in convincing fashion on the road while holding teams to season low point totals in the process? USC losing to WASHINGTON? At the end of the day UC and USC are fighting for BCS position and the only team they have both played is Oregon St. Best barometer or not, it is one of the few tangible pieces of evidence out there to compare the two teams...
October 28, 200916 yr Author The bottomline is that if both are undefeated, Iowa will have solid signature wins, UC not so much. I'd wait until the end of the season to call any of Iowa's wins "signature". I'll admit they do have the feel of 2002 Ohio State that needed 3 dropped passes in the endzone to knock off a less than good UC team on the way to a bogus title...
October 28, 200916 yr I'd wait until the end of the season to call any of Iowa's wins "signature". I'll admit they do have the feel of 2002 Ohio State that needed 3 dropped passes in the endzone to knock off a less than good UC team on the way to a bogus title... Sorry, but no matter how you slice it, road wins over Penn State and Ohio State are going to be much better than anything UC has on their resume. Undefeated or not, neither team will play for the title unless they get a bunch of help, but Iowa would deserve the shot over the Bearcats.
October 28, 200916 yr Author Sorry, but no matter how you slice it, road wins over Penn State and Ohio State are going to be much better than anything UC has on their resume. Undefeated or not, neither team will play for the title unless they get a bunch of help, but Iowa would deserve the shot over the Bearcats. Which simply says you overvalue Ohio State and Penn State and undervalue Oregon State and Pitt. Or you don't care that Iowa has trouble beating below average teams like N. Iowa and Arkansas State at home or a poor MSU team on the road. I laugh at all the talk about the "weak" UC schedule when they have brushed aside every challenge while Iowa gets a pass for being awful for 58 minutes a game against the quality of team UC is beating by 20 plus at home and on the road...
October 28, 200916 yr Which simply says you overvalue Ohio State and Penn State and undervalue Oregon State and Pitt. Or you don't care that Iowa has trouble beating below average teams like N. Iowa and Arkansas State at home or a poor MSU team on the road. I laugh at all the talk about the "weak" UC schedule when they have brushed aside every challenge while Iowa gets a pass for being awful for 58 minutes a game against the quality of team UC is beating by 20 plus at home and on the road... Oregon State and Pitt are both solid, but neither is anywhere close to as good as Penn State or Ohio State. Regardless, this is a pointless debate IMO. Neither team will end the year undefeated.
October 28, 200916 yr While obviously not the best way to compare teams, how else is there to compare UC to a USC? UC winning in convincing fashion on the road while holding teams to season low point totals in the process? USC losing to WASHINGTON? At the end of the day UC and USC are fighting for BCS position and the only team they have both played is Oregon St. Best barometer or not, it is one of the few tangible pieces of evidence out there to compare the two teams... I dont know how "convincing" it is...the win over OSU. It was a three point game until the 8 minute mark of the game. Convincing in that they won at OSU...but it no way a blow out. Bottom line, there is a lot of the season to play out and I have a feeling there are going to be quite a few twists left for many of the teams battling.
October 28, 200916 yr Oregon State is 4-3 with zero impressive wins on the season. There is a lot of season to be played, but that is not a better win right now than Penn State is. Also, Pitt has some solid wins, but lost to a BAD NC State team.
October 28, 200916 yr Author I dont know how "convincing" it is...the win over OSU. It was a three point game until the 8 minute mark of the game. Convincing in that they won at OSU...but it no way a blow out. Did you watch that whole game? I never said UC blew them out, but they were in control from start to finish in a place that is VERY tough to win. The D held Oregon St to a season low in points and bottled up the returning PAC 10 offensive player of the year in the process. I'll put that win on par with beating a Penn State team that Iowa has seemed to own at either location lately and have no problem doing so...
October 28, 200916 yr Author I guess my thought process on this is simple to me, but simply isn't shared by the masses. Iowa has three BAD wins. When relating it to the system in place, I think it is a joke they get a pass for being awful against average at best teams while UC has dominated the same...
October 28, 200916 yr Just my 2 cents. I would rank Iowa and UC's key opponents like this: 1.Penn State- best of the bunch by far. 2. Pitt- underrated, UC has yet to face them. By far UC's toughest game. 3. OSU 4. Oregon State.
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