GoldandBlack.com talks to HawkeyeReport.com publisher Tom Kakert to get his perspective on the No. 19 (AP) Iowa Hawkeyes heading into Saturday's game.

Kakert gives us his thoughts on the 6-2 start and some questions regarding the right thumb of quarterback Nate Stanley. Kakert also addresses problems he sees with the Hawkeyes' offense and why they may need to rely on its defense in the final month of the regular season.

GoldandBlack.com: Tom, is there any surprise that Iowa is 16th in the first CFP rankings and No. 19 in the latest Associated Press poll despite having recent issues on offense?

Kakert: "Who really would've thought that this would be a pivotal game in the Big Ten race for both teams at this point? It's kind of strange that this Big Ten West race has taken shape with four teams still justifiably make a case that they could end up in Indianapolis. It makes this final month of play very exciting."

GoldandBlack.com: I thought Iowa was going to come back last weekend and win at Penn State. What did the first half (getting a 12-0 lead) and the second half tell you about the Hawkeyes?

Kakert: "It feels like both of Iowa's losses this season were about the ability to close out games. You saw that in the home loss to Wisconsin and last week it was just about mistakes. To me, there was three key plays and all of them involved Nate Stanley missing a pass or throwing an interception. You had an instance where Stanley runs a great play-action fake and Iowa's tight end T.J. Hockenson is literally 10 yards beyond every Penn State player and Stanley overshot him. That's the potential of six points on the board right there. The interception late in the fourth quarter was a panic deal where they tried to call an audible at the line and Iowa's sideline was trying to get a timeout. Had Iowa been able to get that score, it's 31-30 Hawkeyes with two minutes left."

GoldandBlack.com: The numbers suggest Iowa's offense has been better on the road (second in the Big Ten in scoring on the road) but you find that deceiving. Why?

Kakert: "Here's the crazy thing: In its last two games, Iowa has scored one offensive touchdown. They had a 10-yard touchdown pass against Maryland and got a touchdown off a fake field goal this past week. Iowa's passing attack did perform very well against Indiana and Minnesota earlier this but I wouldn't think you'd call those teams great by any means. Last week Iowa did not score a offensive touchdown despite scoring 24 points where they had two safeties and a fake where they tossed it to a defensive tackle for a touchdown. They did have 350 yards of total offense, ran 88 plays and controlled the clock at Penn State but just could not get the ball in the end zone. It felt like when they had short field situations early they needed to get a touchdown so maybe Penn State goes away (but that didn't happen). They had to settle for field goals and Penn State hung around to allow Trace McSorley to make some plays late."

GoldandBlack.com: Do you like the matchup of Stanley versus a Purdue pass defense that is last in the Big Ten in yardage allowed?

Kakert: "A couple of things on Stanley. One, he banged his right thumb on a teammate's helmet on a throw in the fourth quarter and we'll find out more this week but I don't think that throwing hand is 100 percent. We will have to see how that effects him throwing the football on Saturday. The other aspect is against good teams, like I consider Purdue to be, Stanley has just not performed well in bigger environments. I expect it'll be pretty crazy at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday as these Purdue fans are buying into this team, which they should. In the last two years at places like Michigan State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Penn State, he's only completing 45 percent of his passes. He's got one touchdowns and four interceptions in those four games.

"If you can get pressure up the middle against him, it seems to bother his footwork and he tries to just arm throw the ball. At that point, the ball ends up low or high and you might have seen the Deadspin gif of Stanley hitting the Iowa mascot in the nether region area. Stanley has accuracy issues. When he's given time, he's really good and I'll go back to Nebraska of last year along with Indiana and Minnesota of this year where 62 percent of his passes are completed."

GoldandBlack.com: What makes Iowa to be so dominant on defense and is it as simple as they can generate pressure by rushing four linemen?

Kakert: "I think this it has been a combination of both the pass rush and a more aggressive nature with the secondary. The pass rush has been really good led by Anthony Nelson and A.J. Epenesa. Iowa has 24 sacks this year and I always say if Iowa is going to have a chance at a special season then they have to get 30 sacks.

"Defensive coordinator Phil Parker has also dialed up more blitzes this season. They've been playing a converted defensive back Amani Hooker as more of a linebacker and that has allowed him to blitz the quarterback more often. I suspect they'll use Hooker in that fashion this week because of Purdue's offense. They have a special third down raider package where they sub in four defensive ends to pass rush.

"The defense has been really good. Against Minnesota they gave up 31 points but 14 of those points were gifted to the Gophers via Iowa turnovers. Penn State was gifted 10 points last week. They have been especially good against the run. Penn State got over 100 yards but 51 was on a scramble by McSorley and that play was a coverage issue. They've really good job of stuffing the run and winning on first down.

"I'll say this: Iowa starts two true freshmen at cornerback and they have held up really well. One of those freshmen is an Indianapolis kid Julius Brents and Riley Moss is the other. They have done a remarkable job but this week from a receiver perspective is the best group they'll see all year."

GoldandBlack.com: How do you see the game on Saturday playing out?

Kakert: "Before the season I felt like this was a trap game for Iowa much like last year was for the Hawkeyes. Jeff Brohm just dismantled Iowa in the second half. I was so impressed with the job he did by finding a weakness at the left cornerback position and he just kept going after it. That's how Purdue beat Iowa in Iowa City. Brohm called great plays and the defense played great obviously.

"Before the season, I picked this as a loss for the Hawkeyes and I'm probably going to pick Purdue this week. I'm concerned about Stanley's hand situation and it just seemed like that was a gut punch on Saturday at Penn State. I felt like they played well enough to win and they gave it away so I worry about the mental psyche of this team right now."

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