Gaining the tough yards.

That has been an issue for most of the Jeff Brohm era. No need to remind the fifth-year Purdue coach. He knows it.

Time and again, Brohm has seen his offense struggle--against good competition--to get that tough yard on third-and-two, or fourth-and-one. And running in the red zone, where yards are difficult to come by in a truncated area of the field, almost always is a challenge for Purdue.

“We just have to continue to find ways to get better,” said Brohm.

It will be especially key for Purdue (2-1) to do well in short-yardage as Big Ten play begins on Saturday with a visit from Illinois (1-3).