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For the second year in a row, Purdue is off to a slow start.

In 2018, the Boilermakers began 0-3 before ripping off four victories in succession en route to making a bowl game for a second year in a row. This season, Purdue is 1-2, including a gut-punch season-opening loss at Nevada in which it blew a 31-14 third quarter lead in a 34-31 loss. How will the Boilermakers respond?

Minnesota comes to West Lafayette with a 3-0 record on Saturday for the Big Ten opener for both teams. Does Jeff Brohm feel a sense of urgency?

“It’s always urgent,” said Brohm after practice on Thursday. “Every game, you have to try to win. Every game can set you back. And certain wins can set you forward. Of course, this is one of them. We have a team that is 3-0 that was hot at the end of last year. They are hot now. They are playing good football. They do the small things right.”

The Golden Gophers, who were off last week like Purdue, have won ugly. Minnesota’s three triumphs have come by an combined 13 points. Meanwhile, the Boilermakers are scuffling. Injuries and youth have conspired against Purdue, which is coming off a 34-13 home loss to TCU in its last contest.

“Every year is different,” said Brohm. “We have been in a jam the first year at 4-6 and going to Iowa trying to win that game. Last year, we started 0-3. Had a spell in the middle and hit a rut in the end. You’d like to find a way to eliminate those as much as possible, but I think we have some youth.

“We are gonna see a few struggles here and there. I'd like to see us improve. I'd like to see us play harder, I’d like to see us compete for four quarters, I’d like to see guys who wanna go out there and fight to win. When you are doing that, normally good things are gonna happen. I think we need to see more of that. I haven’t been as pleased with that as I would like to."

The status of Elijah Sindelar remains murky. Jeff Brohm offered no clarity on his starting quarterback after Thursday’s practice.

"I think we are making progress on all of our guys with injuries,” said Brohm. “We are hopeful to have him ready for the game.”

Sindelar sustained a concussion vs. Vanderbilt on Sept. 7. He missed the TCU game on Sept. 14, as redshirt freshman Jack Plummer made his first career start in a 34-13 defeat. Sindelar isn’t the only dinged up Boilermaker.

“We will have multiple guys back in the mix that got as healthy as they could in two weeks,” said Brohm. “Every season is different. You just have to react and adjust. Whoever is in there for us, we want them to step up and play well."

No doubt, it would help if Purdue had injured players like linebacker Markus Bailey, defensive tackle Lorenzo Neal and running back Tario Fuller in the fold.

“Every year, you are gonna lose some guys," said Brohm. "It’s just part of it. You can't use it as an excuse. You can't use it as a crutch. We got to fight through it. The Markus Baileys of the world, the Lorenzo Neals, yeah, they are great players. But we have other players who just have to step up, play well and fight through it. We have a great team coming in in Minnesota that’s hot right now. We have to find a way to step up to the challenge.”

Jeff Brohm has said a few times in recent weeks that he’d like to play more offensive linemen. The unit has struggled to get a consistent push, as Purdue is second-to-last in the nation in rushing (50.0 ypg). Brohm says left tackle Grant Hermanns and right guard Matt McCann (who has been dealing with an ankle injury) have been the best blockers. The others?

“(Center) Viktor Beach has to continue to improve,” said Brohm. “He has fought through some things injury-wise that have limited him in practice. We are hopeful to see (guard) DJ Washington a little more. I think he has some talent. He just has to go out there and execute and believe in himself. Kind of pick up the offense and not second-guess himself when he is out there. (Tackle) Will Bramel will continue to improve and get better. He has played a lot of us. He has to continue to gain strength and a little more push when he comes off the line of scrimmage. That’s gonna be very important. Between the left guard, position, Alex Criddle and Mark Stickford, Jimmy McKenna ...

“We are hopeful to probably play 8-10. But at the same time, we’ll see how the game goes. We wanna rotate them in. But if for some reason someone is playing well, you may see a little less of somebody. But they’ve all practiced. I don’t think there’s a big difference between our ones and twos. It’s just they haven't played a lot. We need to get them out there and let them play.”

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