If the Penn State football team ends up playing in Florida on New Year's Day, they should send souvenirs or cards, or something to Kliff Kingsbury and Brad Banks.

Banks, Iowa's quarterback, passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more in Iowa's 45-21 win over Minnesota, garnering the Hawkeyes a share of the Big Ten title and a 11-1 record. Kingsbury, Texas Tech's quarterback, passed for 473 yards and six touchdowns to help the Red Raiders knock off Texas.

Iowa's win and then BCS No. 5 Texas' loss give the Hawkeyes a great chance of getting an at-large bid in the BCS if Ohio State defeats Michigan to finish undefeated and go to the Fiesta Bowl. Iowa moved up to No. 7 in the BCS. With Texas falling to the tenth spot, independent Notre Dame, at No. 6, is the only team ahead of Iowa that will likely be vying for an at-large bid. At No. 8, Southern California is also hoping for an at-large, but they still have to play Notre Dame, so only one of the two will end up in the BCS.

The Rose Bowl doesn't have to select Iowa if Ohio State goes to the Fiesta Bowl. They are still considering taking Notre Dame to fill the slot, but the Big Ten's connection with the Rose Bowl that goes back to 1946 will help their cause.

"Iowa's got a bit of an edge," Rose Bowl Sports Information Director Nancy Atkinson said. "We are not obligated to take the Big Ten co-champion, but it is certainly our intention to do that ... That is a relationship we want to continue."

With Iowa and Ohio State in, if the Lions win Saturday they would likely get a bid to the Capital One (formerly the Citrus) Bowl. It is supposed to get the second choice among Big Ten teams. Michigan, who would finish ahead of the Lions in the Big Ten standings, would likely not be chosen because they have been to the Citrus Bowl in each of the last two and three of the last four seasons. The Citrus Bowl can take a team with one less overall loss than the available team with the best record.

If Ohio State loses, things would get interesting. The Hawkeyes would then get an automatic BCS berth. Both Michigan and Ohio State would be viable choices for a second BCS bid, depending on how the polls would turn out. If Michigan would go to the Orange Bowl or Sugar Bowl, the Capital One Bowl would have to take Ohio State over Penn State because they would only have one loss and the Lions would have three. The Lions would then end up in the Outback Bowl.

If the Big Ten team only gets one team in the BCS, then Iowa, or Ohio State if they lose, would go to the Captial One Bowl. The Lions would then be in a toss-up situation with Michigan for the Outback Bowl. According to Mike Schulze, the bowl's director of Communications and Sponsorships, the Outback Bowl committee is trying to keep away from making any decisions until they know what they are working with.

"We've been in this business long enough to know not to cross a bridge twice," Schulze said. "We don't know what the BCS is going to do, and we don't know what the Capital One Bowl is going to do, so we're going to wait until we know until we start speculating. We just know we would be happy with any of our options."

Schulze said that there would be a lot that would factor in to the committee's decision. Michigan's head-to-head victory over the Lions would carry some weight, but because it came in a hard-fought overtime game, it would not automatically give the Wolverines the edge.

If the Outback Bowl would select the Wolverines, the Lions would still be looking forward to a Christmas break in the sun. A trip to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio would be the worst-case scenario, even if the Lions lose to the Spartans.

"They will never fall past us," said Rick Hill, the Alamo Bowl's director of marketing. "They would probably still be ranked and they've won games against stronger teams than Minnesota ... We'd love for them to fall into our lap."

As good as their prospects are looking, the rumors going around about the possibility of a Sugar Bowl berth are likely a little too optimistic. At-large selections must be in the top 12 of the BCS rankings. The Lions are now ranked No. 15 and seven rankings points behind No. 12 Florida State. Even if they would make it up that far, they would still be a longshot with six teams currently in the top 12 vying for at-large berths.

"That's a lot of points to make up," Sugar Bowl Executive Director Paul Hoolahan said. "Hey, we'll see what happens. That's why they play the game."