Illinois is academically a better school than Iowa when measured in terms of entrance scores, etc. I would guess that Iowa and MSU are at the bottom of the B10 in terms of undergrad academics, but a large function of that is the fact Iowa is a small state and the pool of kids taking the entrance exams is much smaller. Plus, in Iowa, you have two choices of fairly good, big schools, which further dilutes Iowa's academic standing.
But when you look at really matters, I have found a strong inverse correlation between looks and ACT scores in females between the ages of 18 and 22. The girls in Iowa City destroy the girls in Evanston and Champaign and it ain't even close. Like my buddy from Naperville says "The smart girls from Naperville go to Illinois, the hot ones go to Iowa and Indiana." And hell, look at the chicks in the SEC, whose entrance exam scores make Iowa look like Princeton. Good gravy.
