Jacksonville flight arrives in I.C.; are bowl officials aboard?

IOWA CITY - One day before bowl selections are official, Iowa's options remain open for the their final football destination.

The Hawkeyes, which finished 7-5 overall with a three-game losing streak, are among several Big Ten teams considered for the Outback, Gator and Insight bowls. All of those sites remain a possibility, Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said Saturday.

"I would say I have as much of a sense this year as I've had the last couple of years," Barta said.

The Big Ten's 11-1 threesome of Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State seem set for the Rose, Sugar and Capital One bowls. The Outback, which is based in Tampa, Fla.,  receives the next pick, and the bowl remains in deliberations. Indications have the bowl wanting to pick Penn State, especially if South Carolina or Florida is the SEC opponent. But if Alabama is the SEC selection, it's likely the bowl would pick a different Big Ten team such as Iowa. Alabama beat Penn State 24-3 in a September non-conference game and the teams play again next fall.

"Even though we lost that last game (27-24 against 3-9 Minnesota), and we all that  have in our memory bank, I'm confident based on our performance this year and our performance in previous bowl games, we've been matched up against teams with a better record, we're going to compete terrifically," Barta said. "We have the talent, we've beaten teams and played against high-quality teams this year and in past bowl games. That's the other thing we talk about. If we get matched up against a team that has a better record, we're still going to show up and perform well."

The Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., selects after the Outback. A Jacksonville-based plane registered to Renair Leasing Associates arrived Saturday morning at the Iowa City Municipal Airport, but Barta denied that bowl representatives were aboard.

"It must be a coincidence," Barta said. "I'm not meeting with anyone from Jacksonville today."

Several reports have Michigan playing Florida, Tennessee or Georgia in the Gator Bowl.

Should Iowa slip to the Phoenix-area Insight Bowl, its opponent could be the Big 12 championship loser between Oklahoma-Nebraska  (losing team finishes 10-3) or Missouri (10-2). Oklahoma State (10-2) appears set to play in the Alamo Bowl.

The Outback and Gator bowls are played Jan. 1. The Insight Bowl is played Dec. 28.

Barta said he's reminding bowl officials that Iowa has competed against high-caliber programs in bowls even with a worse record. Among those games include the 2006 Alamo Bowl, which 6-6 Iowa lost 26-24 to two-loss Texas.

"That's one example," he said. "We had a great chance to win that game against a team that was ranked a lot higher and coming in with more momentum.

"We're doing all the things to make sure the bowls have the facts. So we send them our television ratings, we send them remind them we've beat and the teams we've lost to, the scores.We remind them of attendance at bowls and remind them of how many tickets we sell versus our opponents every year. We're doing all these types of things to make sure the decisions are based on the facts and not on perception."