IOWA CITY - The Iowa sports information office sent out a release Monday admonishing members of the media to "get the correct facts on Iowa football."

The release, in rebuttal to recent critiques of the Hawkeyes, provided statistics comparing them favorably to such teams as Cincinnati, Oregon, Boise State and TCU.

Kirk Ferentz didn't have anything to do with it. The Iowa coach said he won't get involved in lobbying efforts on behalf of his team. Not now. Probably not ever.

If the fans and the media and even his school's PR flacks want to have a debate, that's fine.

"I am so uninterested in that right now," Ferentz said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. "We'll probably end up where we belong at the end of the day. The drama and the suspense are not killing me."

Ferentz said he understands why some coaches feel the need to "politick" for their teams. But he said even if the Hawks finish the regular season 12-0 and get snubbed in selections for the Bowl Championship Series national championship game, he's not likely to say much.

"I don't care. It doesn't matter ..." he said. "If that ends up happening to us, in some ways I'm not going to be too upset because I don't know how you get too upset when you're undefeated. But that is so far down the road. Wow. I just hope we can get by Saturday."

Saturday brings an 11 a.m. home game with Northwestern. Iowa has trailed in eight of its nine victories and has developed a knack for winning games in improbable ways.

In last Saturday's 42-24 victory over Indiana, quarterback Ricky Stanzi threw interceptions on four straight possessions in the third quarter, then led Iowa to four straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

That less-than-smooth win and the fact that it included a controversial second-half replay reversal in Iowa's favor has further fueled assertions that the Hawkeyes should not be regarded among the nation's elite.

Ferentz admitted he has heard that commentators such as Lou Holtz and Terry Bradshaw have taken shots at his team, suggesting that it has been lucky.

"I tried to stay up Saturday night and watch some of it, but I couldn't stay awake," Ferentz said. "I do get a kick out of (ESPN's) Mark May and Lou Holtz. That's good TV."

He apparently did see Bradshaw's comments on the Fox NFL postgame show Sunday evening. Bradshaw who was the star quarterback of the Steelers when Ferentz was growing up in Pittsburgh, said that Iowa took its own replay officials with it.

"He can say whatever he wants. He's my guy," Ferentz said of Bradshaw. "I didn't even know they talked about college football on that show. I thought it was a pro show."

Ferentz's players were making light of the bashing, too.

"It doesn't really matter," linebacker Pat Angerer said. "I'm pretty sure I can beat up most of those guys anyway."

For now, Ferentz said he and his players will focus on Northwestern. Next week they will focus on a visit to Ohio State and the week after that it will be Minnesota. He said he thinks his players are mature enough to also take it one game at a time and leave the pundits to the prattle.

"If we're lucky, we'll put our feet up over Thanksgiving and say, 'Boy, this was a good year,"' he said. "But we're not there yet."

Jinx! what jinx?

Most of the members of the Iowa football team never heard of the Sports Illustrated jinx.

And they didn't even know until Tuesday afternoon, when reporters began asking about it, that they are on the cover of the Midwest edition of SI this week.

"It's something you dream about growing up as a kid, being on this kind of team and being on the cover of Sports Illustrated," guard Julian Vandervelde said. "I didn't even know about it until now. That shows we've stayed pretty focused as a team."

Coach Kirk Ferentz expressed surprise that his team was featured on the cover.

"Isn't the World Series going on right now?" he asked.

While Ferentz is aware that teams and individuals on the cover of SI sometimes are considered to be cursed, his players knew nothing about that.

"Is that like the Madden jinx?" Vandervelde asked.

"I don't believe in that kind of stuff anyway," offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga added. "If you lose, you lose. It's not because you're on the cover of some magazine."

The cover photo shows wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos scampering for a touchdown in last Saturday's 42-24 victory over Indiana.

"He's probably going to have that up all over the place now," linebacker Pat Angerer said.

IOWA NOTES

GREENWOOD PROBABLE: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said he was hopeful free safety Brett Greenwood would be back in the lineup Saturday against Northwestern.

The Pleasant Valley grad suffered a neck injury against Michigan State but was in the starting lineup last Saturday against Indiana. He removed himself after one series.

"He felt fine, but he just didn't feel like he could tackle," Ferentz said. "There was a play where he came up and tackled, and it wasn't feeling good. He's not at risk or he wouldn't be on the field. He's been cleared medically ... It's like a sprain. There's inflammation right now. There's soreness. That's the issue."

Ferentz said he wasn't as sure about receiver and punt returner Colin Sandeman, who missed the Indiana game after suffering a concussion at Michigan State. He said he hoped Sandeman could play but thought it wasn't "realistic."

IOWA-OSU ON ABC: The Hawkeyes' final road game a week from Saturday at Ohio State will have a 2:30 p.m. starting time and will be televised to most of the country on ABC. Areas that get a different game on ABC will get Iowa-Ohio State on ESPN.

TWO MORE SELLOUTS: Iowa's last two home games - Saturday against Northwestern and Nov. 21 against Minnesota - are sellouts, although officials said it was possible Minnesota might return some of its ticket allotment.

NORM IN THE BOX: Ferentz said defensive coordinator Norm Parker, who was hospitalized last week with a chronic foot problem, likely is to spend the rest of the season coaching from the press box.

"We're keeping him off his feet,'' Ferentz said. "We're keeping him in the box. I don't know if it will be the whole season or not, but we've been pushing the envelope. We just need to get him through this season right now."

REMEMBERING EVY: Ferentz paid his sympathies to the family of former Iowa coach Forest Evashevski, who died Friday.

"We'll figure out some way to recognize Coach Evashevski's career here in the upcoming weeks," he said.