Two weeks of bowl politics and uncertainty

Iowa players fall into two camps on this bowl thing.

The younger guys simply want a warm place to wear shorts and feel the sun in December.

“Anywhere hot or warm,” sophomore wide receiver Marvin McNutt said.

“Somewhere warm,” freshman running back Adam Robinson said. “As long as it's somewhere warm and we're getting out of Iowa in December, I'm all for it.”

The seniors don't seem to care. Instead, they focused on the business. Or maybe they were too tired to care after Saturday's 12-0 scrum of a victory over Minnesota.

“Whatever bowl we get in, we're not just going to be happy to get into warm weather, have fun for a week and then play,” senior linebacker A.J. Edds said. “We want to get down there and compete with whoever it is and wherever it's at.”

Iowa's bowl scenarios are a myriad possibilities.

“I think I counted 37 different scenarios,” Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said Saturday after greeting bowl reps from the Orange, Capital One and Outback Bowls. I made the number up, but the concept is true.”

When Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz exited the Iowa locker room Saturday, bowl reps were lined along the hallway on his left in this order, Outback, Orange and Capital One. Later in the interview room, Larry Gautier, an Orange Bowl committee member, hugged Ferentz.

None of this means anything, really. Iowa is in a holding pattern. The Hawkeyes can't hug their bowl yet. There's nothing to hold onto.

Barta said in his 37 different scenarios that none came back with Iowa's bowl destination in place before the Dec. 6 BCS selection show.

“I don't think there's any way we'll know in the next two weeks,” Barta said. “Starting last week, this week, next week, we'll be on the phone with all the different bowls, talking about what they're thinking and trying to get a sense of what the different scenarios might be.

“Maybe we can reduce it from 37.”

Let's do that right now. Iowa (10-2) is probably looking at three - Fiesta (Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 4, 7 p.m.), Orange (Miami, Fla., on Jan. 5, 7 p.m.) and Capital One (Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 1, noon). Iowa and Penn State played themselves into BCS contention with victories Saturday with victories that should lock down the required spots in the top 14 of the BCS. Iowa has a head-to-head victory at Penn State. Penn State has a massive east coast following and legendary coach Joe Paterno.

TV ratings? Barta said not so fast.

Earlier this season, the Hawkeyes' victory over Indiana was the second most viewed 11 a.m. kickoff on ESPN ever, with 3.2 million households tuning in.

“If you look at our television ratings, they're sky high,” Barta said, perhaps pointing this toward Penn State. “If you go apples to apples, our television ratings versus common opponents with some other teams around the country that might be considered, we're going to come out on top.

“So, you have a great fan base, a great football team and high television ratings. My sales job is to just get that information out there.”

The Hawkeyes' fans sold Gautier in 2003, when 35,000 Iowans made the Orange Bowl a home game. Iowa lost to USC, but proved its sterling national reputation as a band of happy travelers.

“We start talking about the what if scenarios today, but obviously as every week goes by, there's always the proverbial curveball that gets thrown into this thing,” Gautier said. “So, we just go with our ‘what if' scenarios and start putting pencil to paper probably the week after Thanksgiving.”

Iowa and Penn State are in it. Only one of them can go, with Ohio State, the Big Ten champion, holding down the conference's automatic BCS bid.

Does Iowa belong in the BCS?

“I've got no idea,” coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Does Penn State belong in the BCS?

“What do you want me to say? Pick us. Pick us. Pick us,” Paterno said after the Nittany Lions' 42-14 thumping of Michigan State.

If it were only that easy.