Michigan State might be the quietest second-place team in the history of the Big Ten.

After starting the season 1-3, including a two-point home loss to Central Michigan, the Spartans were all but discarded as a Big Ten title contender. But after three-straight wins, Michigan State (4-3, 3-1) has started to live up to its preseason hype, which pegged the Spartans as the third-best team in the conference.

Of course, those preseason predictions are all but discredited now, because No. 7 Iowa (7-0, 3-0) sits atop of the conference after road victories over Penn State and Wisconsin. This weekend, the Hawkeyes will make the 427-mile trek to meet Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., for a 6 p.m. kickoff.

This was the road game circled by many before the season as a potential slip-up point for Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz’s team. After all, the Hawkeyes haven’t won in East Lansing since 1995, when they managed a 21-7 victory.

But after convincingly beating the aforementioned Nittany Lions and Badgers on the road this year, Iowa, which ranks No. 6 in the first BCS standings this week, has some newfound confidence away from Kinnick Stadium.

“I’m not saying it’s going to be any easier this week,” Ferentz said. “But it won’t be any tougher than the last couple of road games we’ve had. That’s for sure. We’ve walked down that road, and we’ll see how we do this time.”

Since Iowa’s 16-13 loss to Michigan State on Oct. 4 last season, the Hawkeyes have only lost one game — a stinging 27-24 defeat at Illinois.

Indeed, much is at stake Saturday night in East Lansing — Iowa’s newfound ranking along side the likes of Florida, Texas, Alabama, and USC; first place in the Big Ten; the Hawkeyes’ 11-game winning streak dating back to last season; and perhaps even some revenge from last year’s contest.

Senior linebacker and captain Pat Angerer said, “I’m not too much into revenge.” And junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi maintained the Hawkeyes’ are happy with their record but haven’t even begun to think about the implications of being undefeated, saying, “We’ve put a lot of work in to get to this point, but it all goes to waste if you try to stop and enjoy it too early.”

This week, all of the Hawkeye players said they’ve been too engulfed in the Michigan State film to “think too globally,” as Ferentz says. In fact, Stanzi hadn’t even heard of the Hawkeyes’ BCS ranking until a reporter told him on Tuesday.

Forgive the quarterback for his lack of awareness. Stanzi has had plenty to worry about because of Michigan State’s fast defense, which has proven stout against the run during its three-game winning streak. Highlighted by junior linebacker Greg Jones, who many consider the Big Ten’s best defensive player, the Spartans defense is only giving up an average of 79.7 running yards over that stretch.

Over that same period, the Hawkeyes’ running attack has slowly declined, gaining only 65 yards on the ground last weekend at Wisconsin and placing the pressure of the offense on Stanzi.

“We haven’t played that perfect game,” senior center Rafael Eubanks said. “And it’s the fact that we can still get better that’s really exciting for us.”