That schedule is an embarrassment, although the win over Pitt looks better than it did at the time. They walloped Northwestern, but I'm not sure how much of that was getting them at the perfect time (the week after they were obliterated at Michigan). It's very possible that Iowa finishes the regular season without having played a single team that finished ranked. That being said, if they somehow pull out a victory in the conference championship, there's no way they're left out of the playoff.