This isn't the first time Purdue's Air Raid offense has been relegated to a ground attack since Graham Harrell's arrival in West Lafayette.

Last season, Purdue was at times anchored by the backfield tandem of Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Mockobee. The duo helped produce the first 2,000-yard rushing campaign for the program in over a decade, but it didn't translate to victories for Ryan Walters and company.

A similar fate is starting to unfold for the Boilermakers in 2024, with Hudson Card and the pass game taking steps back over the last two weeks. While Mockobee and Reggie Love headlined a stellar showing over the weekend, to the tune of 260+ yards on the ground, the flip side of the offense hasn't held up their end of the bargain since the week one victory over Indiana State.

Card had one game with less than 130 yards through the air a year ago, but has doubled that mark in just three games this season. The Purdue quarterback followed up his 124-yard performance against Notre Dame by throwing for only 56 yards in the loss to Oregon State last Saturday.

Card took part of the blame for Purdue's struggles passing the football, and while Harrell believes he needs to play better, the second-year offensive coordinator wasn't ready to point the finger at his QB1 entirely.

"I'm the first one to say that I gotta be better. I will be better," Card said.

"I think it's a combination of both," Harrell said. "I don't ever think it's just one person or one position group or anything like that."

We've seen the type of performances Hudson Card is capable of, between a record-setting showing in the season-opener and his final two starts of 2023, which was the expectation after his transfer in from Texas. Ryan Walters knows, perhaps more than anybody, what Purdue has in Card under center.

But now is the time for him to showcase that ability on a more consistent basis.

"We got to do things that allow our quarterback to play well. Huddy's a talented individual, and that talent's got to show up on game day," Walters said.

Ryan Walters didn't hold back when addressing what Purdue needed to change with its offense as a whole to unlock the success that it had at times last season, touching on a number of areas the Boilermakers needed to improve upon.

"We got to look at when we're using tempo offensively, how do we generate easier third down conversions. There's a lot of things that we are evaluating right now," Walters said. "We got to do things that our guys are comfortable with and give our guys that need touches, give them touches."

Walters was unwilling to reveal what changes the Boilermakers would make in particular, but did share that some of the issues that the staff saw on film had been addressed and that he was anticipating what changes would look like throughout this week of practice.

"We'll keep those issues in house so that we're not tipping our hand our opponent, you know, but there are definitely things that we've talked about and have addressed. Looking forward to seeing what that looks like."

Card sees the offense's issues revolving around a lack of execution between the white lines. While Walters and Card may have differing opinions on the struggles, the Boilermakers' quarterback has taken it upon himself to translate success in practice to the field of play.

"At the end of the day, we have to go out there and execute on Saturdays. Transition from practice to game days, and we'll be all right," Card said. "Everyone has to go out and execute the game plan. Pay attention to the little details."

That quest will be even tougher moving forward as the Boilermakers could be without top wide receiver Jahmal Edrine for 3-4 weeks on the heels of an injury he suffered against Notre Dame. That loss, on top of the absence of Georgia transfer CJ Smith, has the receiving corps in a state of flux heading into conference play.

The pressure now falls on the likes of De'Nylon Morrissette, Jaron Tibbs, Shamar Rigby, Kam Brown and others to raise their level of play. Card acknowledged that the injuries would impact the offense, while also giving the receiving corps a vote of confidence despite the absence of Edrine and Smith.

"In a season you're going to get hit with adversity, no matter injury, losses, and it's how you bounce back from that. We have guys that are going to step up in that room. For me, at the end of the day, I'm just going to go through my reads and the defense will tell me where to go with the ball no matter who's out there. So you know, that's my approach," Card said.

"Our room's deep, so we obviously have guys that will come in, step up and make plays. But, I feel for those guys. Obviously would love to have them out here. I think they they feel the same way. Injuries suck, but I'm confident in our receiver room," Card said.

Tight end Max Klare could be the biggest key for Purdue with its current pass catching crew, already being the Boilermakers' leading receiver through three games with 10 catches for 153 yards and two scores. Graham Harrell has made him a focal point of the offense, but that role may expand with Edrine and Smith sidelined.

"He's a guy that, obviously we game plan touches for, and we have to continue to do that. He's a big part of what we're doing. He'll be a huge part of what we do in the pass game, but he's also a big part we're doing in the run game," Harrell said.

Purdue has another opportunity to change its fortunes and reinvigorate a lackluster passing attack on Saturday afternoon when Nebraska comes to West Lafayette, but the test will be a stiff one. The Cornhuskers held Card and company under 100 passing yards a year ago and own a top 30 defense as far as yards allowed per game and are tied for 18th in the nation in points allowed per game.

Nebraska will present a difficult puzzle for Card and company this weekend, but one it will need to solve in order to turn the tides and get the passing attack back on track before it's too late.