BCS Guru says Iowa will be No. 12 later today

Iowa doesn't want to leave the Top 14 of the BCS.

Why? Pride? Vanity?

Try getting to a BCS bowl game.

You have to be in the top 14 of the final BCS standings to gain admittance into a BCS bowl unless you're a champion of one of the six BCS conferences and you're a mediocrity. Like if Nebraska beat Texas in the Big 12 title game. (Yeah, right.)

So if Iowa beats Minnesota Saturday  and stays in the top 14, the Fiesta Bowl is within the realm of possibility. For now, at least. I think it's a good bet the Big Ten puts two teams in the BCS just out of attrition. USC went bye-bye Saturday. Penn State, 9-2 like Iowa, could do likewise Saturday by losing at Michigan State. Don't rule it out. Penn State isn't fabulous.

Anyway, the BCS Guru (bcsguru.com) says Iowa will be 12th when today's BCS standings are released. His top 15:

1. Florida, 2. Alabama, 3. Texas, 4. TCU, 5. Cincinnati, 6. Boise State, 7. Georgia Tech, 8. Ohio State, 9. LSU, 10. Pittsburgh, 11. Oregon, 12. Iowa, 13. Penn State, 14. Oklahoma State, 15. Wisconsin.

This stuff doesn't fully sort itself out until Dec. 6. Oh, the intrigue, the skullduggery, the backstabbing. And that's just in the Gazette sports department.