First BCS rankings and Big Ten intrigue

The BCS folks released the 2009 season's first official numbers a little while ago. Here's the top 8. Note all the non-BCS schools in the mix:

1. Florida (6-0)
2. Alabama (7-0)
3. Texas (6-0)
4. Boise State (6-0)
5. Cincinnati (6-0)
6. Iowa (7-0)
7. USC (5-1)
8. TCU (6-0)

Here's what fascinates me: The disconnect between pollsters and computers when it comes to the Big Ten.

Iowa ranks 8th according to the coaches and 7th per the Harris Interactive people. But the computers say the Hawkeyes are No. 3 -- trailing only Florida and Alabama.

What this means, of course, is that Iowa is on the fast track to the BCS title game if it can win its final five games because the Gators and Tide must meet in the SEC championship game if they win their respective divisions. Here's the Hawks' schedule:

Saturday: At Michigan State (4-3)
Oct. 31: vs. Indiana (4-3)
Nov. 7: vs. Northwestern (4-3)
Nov. 14: at Ohio State (5-2)
Nov. 21: vs. Minnesota (4-3)

While that's five teams with winning records, Iowa should beware the computers' bias against Big Ten teams not named Iowa or Wisconsin.

Penn State's numbers:
BCS overall: 13
Coaches poll: 11
Harris Interactive: 11
Computers: 17

Ohio State's numbers:
BCS overall: 19
Coaches: 17:
Harris: 17
Computers: 32! (After throwing out the high and low ratings of the six computers, one computer believes the Bucks are the 25th-best team in the country. The rest of the four middle computers don't rank them).

Wisconsin's numbers:
BCS overall: 21
Coaches: 31
Harris: 38
Computers: 14

LW