Ohio State has some major holes. If that hadn’t become apparent over the last few weeks, it was certainly clear on Saturday night in West Lafayette.

Purdue knocked around the Buckeyes for most of the game, leading wire-to-wire in a 49-20 decision. It was the first loss of the season for Ohio Sate, who drops to 7-1 on the year and 4-1 in the B1G.

The Buckeyes failed to get a ground game going offensively, earning just 76 yards on 25 carries. And defensively, they had trouble stopping the Boilermakers’ potent passing attack, which tallied 378 yards.

After the game, Meyer addressed some of those areas of concern.

Sports Betting in Big Ten Country

With the launch coming on January 1, 2023, Ohio sports betting apps are almost here.

FanDuel is now giving users a $100 bonus for Ohio pre-registration. Go pre-register now.

21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

“I’m very surprised,” Meyer said after the loss. “I thought we had a good week of work. The glaring shortcomings we had were exposed.

“Down the stretch, we’re going to need a run game.”

Ohio State’s production in the rushing department has declined dramatically since rushing for 600 yards through the first two weeks of the season. The Buckeyes failed to get anything going on the ground against the Boilermakers.

Meyer also talked about Ohio State’s issues in the secondary, saying that the team is running on fumes.

“We’re on fumes out of the back seven on our defense,” Meyer said. “So we have to get some guys healthy.”

Ohio State gets a much-needed bye week and will be back in action on Nov. 3 when it hosts Nebraska. The Buckeyes then close out the year with trips to Michigan State and Maryland before returning to Columbus for the season finale vs. Michigan.

The Buckeyes have plenty to address before that final stretch.