National pundits not impressed with Hawks

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The only 9-0 college football team has not been that impressive.

That is what you get from members of the national media.

ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd doesn’t think Iowa is that good.

Jim Rome always seems to poke fun at Iowa’s expense.

ESPN’s Skip Bayless called Iowa a “fraud” on a TV show earlier this year.

Even ESPN’s Pat Forde doesn’t think Iowa belongs in the top five.

Maybe they don’t. But the way the system is set up, if Iowa runs the table, the Hawks should get a shot at the national title.

However, not many on the national stage want to see unattractive Iowa in the BCS title game.

It shouldn’t matter what a team looks like. Iowa is 9-0 and has conquered every challenge thrown at them.

When Iowa needs two last-second field goal blocks to beat Northern Iowa, it is lucky.

When the same thing happened for Alabama against Tennessee, the unbeaten Crimson Tide are resilient and full of blue-chip athletes.

Now I know Northern Iowa and Tennessee are not good comparisions. But both of those close calls happened at home, and the Volunteers aren’t exactly setting the world on fire.

When Iowa plays its worst game of the year and still beats Indiana by 18 points and outscores the Hoosiers, 35-3, in the second half, ESPN analyst and former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz called Iowa “lucky.” And he thought Ricky Stanzi should have been benched.

However, when Florida struggles to beat a 4-4 Arkansas team at home, Tim Tebow is the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy and the Gators are simply amazing for never quitting.

I don’t get the differences, but it really doesn’t matter.

The point is, college football needs a playoff system. And that may never happen.

How can the people at the top of the college football world honestly say that only two of a potential five or six undefeated teams this year deserve to play for the title? The only way to give everyone a chance at the prize is to pit them against each other in an eight-team playoff.

That would mean the playoff would take place at the four BCS sites and the other bowls could stay the same. What is so wrong with that? It is not like college football is losing money. They probably don’t need the money anyway.

Whether or not Iowa is ranked too high or too low has been debated by all who have an opinion.

If you have a voice or want to spread an opinion, don’t forget the facts.

Heading into the aeason, national pundits said Iowa is very good but faces a brutal road schedule. Now, after they have won all four road games they have played in, those same pundits are saying that Iowa is lucky to be 9-0.

Not only did they beat Penn State in its own stadium, they also pounded Iowa State and delivered come-from-behind wins against Wisconsin and Michigan State. Wisconsin is 6-2 on the year and Michigan State was picked ahead of Iowa entering the season. And Penn State has yet to lose since the defeat at the hands of Iowa in Happy Valley.

Florida’s best win came at LSU. After that, the Gators have not really beaten anyone of any significance. And don’t tell me Georgia because the Bulldogs are 4-4.

Alabama did win at Virginia Tech to start the year, but the Hokies now have three losses. In fact, Alabama has not beaten anyone with less than three losses this year.

Cincinnati, TCU and Boise State also are unbeaten but none of their schedules stack up to Iowa’s.

The Bearcats have won at South Florida, Clemson and Rutgers but also only beat Fresno State by eight.

TCU may have the second-best resume in the country. They have won at Virginia, Clemson, Air Force and BYU. While those aren’t eye-popping wins, they are more impressive than routs against cupcakes that Florida, Alabama and Texas can claim fame to.

Boise State did beat Oregon at the beginning of the season but also only won at Tulsa by seven.

The only team which has been impressive most of the year is Texas. They got two impressive road wins against Missouri and Oklahoma State in the past two weeks but also were only up seven at home heading into the fourth quarter against a 6-3 Texas Tech team earlier this year.

The Longhorns did beat Oklahoma. but the Sooners did not have Heisman winning QB Sam Bradford or their all-American tight end Jermaine Gresham. And even without those two stars, Texas only won by less than a touchdown,

It has been hard for me to listen to some of the critics, but I am trying my best. At the beginning of the season, I would have taken a Rose Bowl bid in a heartbeat. And I still will.

But to think that Iowa could go 12-0 and get left out of the national championship game is disappointing. Especially with that road schedule.

I guess I should get used to it. After all, we are never going to be as sexy as Florida, Texas or Alabama.