Some years are just messy. This was one of them. Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Michigan State all went 6-2 in the league. What was weird about this multi-team tie, was that the conference didn't have to go deep into the tiebreakers to sort out the mess. Iowa won at Michigan State. It won at Michigan. It pounded Illinois in Iowa City. So who did the Hawkeyes lose to? There was a one point loss to Ohio State. And then, an inexplicable 31-24 loss at 6-5 Minnesota. It was a head-scratcher then. It still is today.
But, Iowa got back to Pasadena for the third time in ten years. The Hawkeyes then lost by double digits, also for the third time in ten years.