The three biggest issues with the Ohio State football team

The Ohio State football team is reeling a bit. They suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday night to Oregon. It was a game they could have won. Quite frankly, they should have won. Instead, it was a 32-31 loss in Eugene. Ohio State fell in the polls too.

Ohio State only fell two spots in the poll from #2 to #4. This is not a loss that will end the Buckeyes' season. In fact, they are still very much alive for both a Big Ten Championship and a College Football Playoff spot. Oregon is a really good team and they were able to do enough to get the victory.

While giving credit to the Ducks is necessary, there are still clearly some things that the Ohio State Buckeyes need to fix. While there are many issues that have cropped up over the course of the season, Ohio State didn't play anyone good enough to take advantage of those until this weekend.

There are three big things that the Buckeyes really need to fix if they want to be the team they were expected to be this season. It's clear they are not an elite team right now. They are a very good team, but very good teams don't win championships.

The first thing that must be fixed is their defense. Specifically, the big plays they've allowed.

1. The Ohio State football team must figure out how to not give up chunk plays in the passing game

Oregon did something that many didn't think they could do to the Buckeyes. They gained a ton of yards on them. Ohio State allowed 496 yards in this game, by far the most of any game so far this year. The Ducks did it in a multitude of ways too.

One of the most concerning aspects of Saturday was the number of big plays that Ohio State allowed in the passing game. Four different receivers had receptions of at least 32 yards in this game. That's completely unacceptable from a secondary that was supposed to be the best in the country.

Denzel Burke was one of the biggest culprits. He was burned time and time again. He was the one that gave up both a 69-yard pass and a 48-yard pass in this one. Burke looked like he did as a freshman against the same Ducks team. They were picking on him all game.

Jim Knowles refused to make adjustments to help him or even replace him. We know how good Jermaine Mathews Jr. is. He would have been more than capable out there. Instead, Knowles rode with Burke and got burned. Knowles needs to figure out how to keep those big plays from happening.

Other teams have the blueprint on how to beat the Ohio State football team now. One of the other big issues on defense might be a bigger problem because it has been a pattern all year long.