Kirk Herbstreit: 'Ohio State has much bigger issues than last year'
All of the issues, the concerns and the fears Ohio State had about its shortcomings were exposed on Saturday night in West Lafayette. And for the first time all season, it cost the Buckeyes.
Purdue defeated Ohio State 49-20, handing the Buckeyes their first loss of the season. The Boilermakers led from wire-to-wire and embarrassed the reigning B1G champs in the fourth quarter.
While Ohio State still controls its own destiny in the B1G East, college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit said there are some real issues with Urban Meyer’s team. Saturday night wasn’t just a poorly executed game.
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“For me, I walk out of this stadium thinking not only did Purdue knock off Ohio State, but Ohio State has much bigger issues than what happened last year against Iowa,” Herbstreit said on SportsCenter. “This is a team that’s not executing well. They’re one-dimensional on offense. It’s strictly Dwayne Haskins and this passing game.”
Last year Ohio State was defeated 55-24 by Iowa at Kinnick Stadium.
The Buckeyes had trouble moving the football on the ground against Purdue, which has been an issue over the past few weeks. And defensively, Ohio State had no answer for running back D.J. Knox or receiver Rondale Moore.
Herbstreit also said that Ohio State appeared to have a lack of leadership on the field.
“J.T. Barrett is not in that locker room. Billy Price is not in that locker room,” Herbstreit said. “Couple four-year starters, so who are those leaders going to be to get this thing rectified and get this team headed in the right direction? Ohio State laid an egg in a big way. When you lose a game like this, everybody thinks it’s over. But man, we can’t even think about the word Playoff when it comes to Ohio State right now with the way they’re playing.”
Ohio State gets a much-needed week off. They return to action in two weeks, hosting Nebraska.