Purdue has an All-America wide receiver, two veteran quarterbacks, a deep group of tight ends, an experienced offensive line and a head coach/play-caller who is thought to be an offensive innovator.

Yet for 3 straight games, the Boilermakers have been held to 13 points, losing 2 of those, including Saturday against Minnesota on Homecoming.

What gives?

That’s what Purdue will try to figure out as it uses its bye week to prepare for arguably the 2 biggest games of the season next: at Big Ten West favorite Iowa, and then back in Ross-Ade Stadium for a visit from equally offensively-challenged Wisconsin.

Put simply, the Boilermakers need to figure out how to execute in the red zone. It’s been the biggest issue through the last 3 weeks: Purdue has moved the ball — the Boilermakers had 28 first downs and nearly 450 yards vs. the Golden Gophers — but hasn’t been able to score points. Against Minnesota, Purdue had 4 trips into the red zone, but settled for field goal tries 3 times, making 2. And although the Boilermakers didn’t quite get into the red zone on their final possession, when they were trying to tie the score in the final minutes, they had a quality chance to score a play before Aidan O’Connell threw his game-ending interception.

It was arguably only a few plays that proved the difference.

On the 7th play of the game, after Purdue had crossed into Minnesota territory, O’Connell faced massive pressure, was hit and fumbled, giving Minnesota an early extra possession. It took advantage of a short field by scoring the first touchdown of the game.

On Purdue’s second possession, the Boilermakers drove to the Minnesota 9, but O’Connell was pressured on 2nd down, was forced to throw a tick sooner than he wanted, and missed David Bell in the end zone. On the next play, O’Connell was sacked, leaving Purdue to settle for a field goal.

And trailing by 7 on its final drive, O’Connell marched Purdue down to the Gophers’ 27; on 2nd down, he settled into a nice pocket, but his pass to an open TJ Sheffield near the 10-yard-line flew high, an uncharacteristic miss by a usually accurate quarterback. He was picked off on the next snap, stopping the bid for the comeback.

Purdue isn’t clicking when it needs to. The Boilermakers have scored on 17 of 21 trips into the red zone this season, a rate that ranks 7th in the Big Ten, but its touchdown percentage is abysmal. Purdue has only 10 TDs after reaching the opponents’ 20-yard line, a 47.6 conversion rate that is third-worst (ahead of only Wisconsin and Illinois) in the league.

It needs to be solved. Aside from the return of tight end Payne Durham, who missed the Minnesota game in concussion protocol but should be back for Iowa (and eventually running back Zander Hovath, who has missed the last 2 weeks with a broken leg and is likely to miss at least a couple more), the personnel isn’t going to change.

The only answer — Purdue has already tried a quarterback switch, with a limited change in results — is to sharpen up, and they’ll get a chance to do so during the extra practice afforded during the bye week.

But the problem, potentially, is that Purdue will return from the break by facing 2 of the Big Ten’s better defenses. No. 3 Iowa allows only 11.6 points and 271 yards per game, the first- and second-best marks in the conference. Although Wisconsin gives up points (25.5 per game, the third-most in the Big Ten), it doesn’t allow yards. The average of 249 yards it gives up per game is tops in the league.

Purdue, at 3-2, still has a chance to get to 6 victories and back to a bowl game for the first time in 3 years, especially considering the West is wide open, at least after Iowa. But the Boilermakers aren’t going anywhere if they can’t fix the offense. The time to do so is now.