As week six leaves and week seven comes around, the Big Ten is starting to gain some of the national respect it had lost in years past. The first BCS rankings came out Sunday and featured four Big Ten teams. Iowa came in ranked No. 6, Penn State No. 13, Ohio State No. 19, and surprisingly, Wisconsin at No. 21.

Critical weeks ahead for Big Ten contenders

Penn State, a team that is coming off an important victory against Minnesota that in turn kept them in the championship hunt, travels to face a Michigan team that is coming of a huge 63-6 victory against an overmatched Delaware State team.

“We’re pleased how the weekend went getting to rest a lot of our players, but we’re playing against an entire different level of competition, and we’ll have to crank it up a few notches to compete,” Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez said.

“Michigan is one of my most favorite places to travel because of the entire atmosphere, but one of my least because of the level of talent they continuously put on the field,” Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said.

Ohio State is looking to rebound at home against a talented Minnesota team after the upset by Purdue last week that took it out of the National Championship race. It puts the Buckeyes in a position where they need to win to have a shot at the Big Ten title.

“I’m sure it rolls around in people’s minds about us getting our second loss, but our goals never change,” Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel said. “We always feel like we have a chance, and I think that’s how we’ve been so successful.”

Wisconsin rolls into this week with a bye after dropping its past two games, sustaining several key injuries and watching as its offense has gone stagnant.

“This is a week for us to sit back, heal our wounds and prepare for a good Purdue team,” UW head coach Bret Bielema said. “John (Clay) is walking around in a boot but he looks to be healthy by next week, Garrett (Graham) sustained a concussion, and I found out that our freshman linebacker Mike Taylor has sustained a serious knee injury and is out for the season.”

Showdown in East Lansing

The biggest game of the week features the 7-0 Iowa Hawkeyes traveling to East Lansing to face Michigan State, which has been one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten, winning its past three games. Iowa looks to come out with a victory that would keep it undefeated, and with a soft part of its schedule ahead, the Hawkeyes could stay unbeaten until they travel to Columbus to face its last true test in Ohio State. Michigan State looks to keep its hot streak up after dropping its first three games in a row, including its first conference game.

“This is a situation that’s nearly identical to last week against Wisconsin, besides the fact that it’s a night game, I look for this to be a true battle,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said.

“We’re looking to continue to scratch our way back, and this is a true challenge to see where we are as a team,” Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio said.

Big Ten teams looking to climb the standings

There are several teams looking to climb the standings or to make themselves bowl eligible.

Illinois travels to Purdue this week and is desperate for a victory after dropping its first four conference games.

“We’re trying to get back on track — this is obviously not where we wanted to be at the start of the season.” Illinois head coach Ron Zook said.

“We’re coming off a truly magical weekend, but we need to prepare because although their record may not show it, they are one of the most talented teams in the conference,” Purdue head coach Danny Hope said.