Three weeks ago, Ohio State ignominiously fell on the road in West Lafayette to a determined Purdue Boilermakers squad playing roughly 7 miles over its head. The shocking loss snapped Ohio State's 16-game road winning streak and negated the possibility of the Buckeyes matching Michigan's 17-game road streak in the late 80's. Had Ohio State won that game, it would be returning to Happy Valley this Saturday in the hopes of snapping their archrival's record. Unfortunately, Terrelle Pryor's performance in front a not-that-hostile crowd on that fateful day make such pondering feel more like delusions of grandeur. Ohio State has had two weeks to lick its wounds at home against wildly overmatched foes, both in- and out-of-conference, and the narrative has shifted. Now, the Buckeyes head into Happy Valley with the goal of getting their road groove back.

Just how magical was that road streak? Well, from late 2005 until early 2009, it wasn't particularly controversial to say that Jim Tressel's teams played some of their best football in hostile environments. Five games in particular truly defined the run, and even a bonus one came out of conference:

• In 2005, Ohio State arrived in Ann Arbor 8-2, but with an apparent renewed life following the heartbreaking loss to the Nittany Lions. Down 21-19 late in the fourth, Troy Smith thrust a dagger into the heart of Michigan fans (and it wouldn't be the last time):
  

Antonio Pittman would later seal the deal with a touchdown run, and the streak was on.

• The next season, in the early September Texas heat, the preseason favorites for the national championship made quick work of the defending champion Texas Longhorns (sound NSFW):

It was after this game that the "road warrior" meme first gained traction. Heading into that game, there wasn't that much (setting aside preseason hype and rankings) in the Buckeyes' favor. Sure, Vince Young was gone, but Ohio State had to replace 9 starters on defense, and was still in search of a bona fide number one receiver. Nevertheless, for one magical night, the team put it all together and dominated a team that, even in retrospect, it probably shouldn't have dominated so thoroughly. The win catapulted the Buckeyes through an undefeated regular season and landed them a date with Florida (*single tear*) in Glendale.

• But before all that, Ohio State had to take care of conference business, and that meant traveling to undefeated Iowa in late September, the last test of what had looked to be a brutal opening month going into the year. Unfortunately, Iowa ended up being fairly disappointing on the year, but that didn't stop this from being so much damn fun:

That marvelous catch and run was just a part of an epic 38-17 beatdown that would set a new standard for road beatdowns in which the good guys ride into town, rape the mascots and ride off on the women. Or, rather, with the opposing women-folk trussed to their wagon. Either way, the win solidified Ohio State's status as untouchable for the 2006 regular season.

• Yes, 2006 Iowa set a standard. That is, until Ohio State returned to State College, Pennsylvania in 2007. Penn State was by no means a great team, but had all the necessary tools (except for Anthony Morelli, who was just a plain tool if you're a Nittany Lion) to pull off an upset of the top-ranked Buckeyes. At the site of Ohio State's last road loss, anything seemed possible. Instead, Ohio State crushed Penn State's larynx the moment the Nits showed signs of life in taking a 7-3 lead on their very first drive (apologies for the music):

Looking back on that game now, it's easy to say it was anomaly for Todd Boeckman, who never came close to approaching. It was not, however, anomalous for the team as a whole, which now had a reputation etched in stone for playing its best football on the road. Ironically, a shocking home loss to Illinois two weeks later only worked to solidify Ohio State's growing conference reputation as road juggernauts.

• While the "road warrior" label did not die in 2007, I feel it's proper to end with the most thorough, soul-crushing domination of the entire streak. Yes, there were approximately 67 punts. Yes, Michigan had little-to-no chance of winning this game in the first place. Yes, Ohio State's offense didn't look particularly pretty, but, uh, I'm kinda used to that by now. I don't care. This is simply the stuff schadenfreude dreams are made of:

There are images from this game that will never die: Chad Henne assuming the fetal position, cowering from another Vernon Gholston sack. The Gun Show getting Henne on some other occasion, this time ensuring the team's best player has at least one more black mark on his senior season. Beanie Wells ending all doubt by putting the Buckeyes up 14-3 wit ha brilliant scoring one. Vaguely attractive Michigan coeds crying. This... this beautiful, beautiful thing:

While I hesitate to call it the beginning of any sort of end, the thoroughly demoralizing, soul-stomping victory in Ann Arbor, like a boot stomping on a human face forever, was arguably this streak's crowning achievement. Sure, the Buckeyes won more road games the next season; a last-minute victory at Wisconsin, twin jailsexings of Michigan State and Northwestern, and an even-in-all-but-the-turnover-margin-and-thus-the-final-score cro-magnon victory at Illinois. All were fun to watch, but none of them featured Buckeye football at its absolute best (ed. note: Michigan at least featured great defense) in truly pressure-packed situations (Madtown came close, but.... the Buckeyes hardly looked even competent for three quarters of that game), and thus, none of them truly merit inclusion as games that defined the streak. Michigan represented a farewell of sorts; the Buckeyes would not quite live up to their dominant road billing from there on out, and it finally came back to bite them in West Lafayette.

Thus, that streak is over. Dead. When Ohio State makes the trip to Happy Valley this weekend, it absolutely must attempt to recapture some of the magic that guided previous Ohio State squads into and out of hostile territory unblemished. Jim Tressel's winning formula is usually excellent on the road; home team turnovers plus a consistent ground attack, capable of grinding out 5+-minute scoring drives, take any crowd - including the Whiteout, if 2007 is any indication - out of the game, with a masterful, and at times, brutal efficiency. Yes, I'm all for boring these suckers to death. Games like these are when Tresselball's ability to slowly destroy an opponent's soul is paramount. Hopefully, this Buckeye team can cobble together enough of a running game to make this look a bit more like 2007 than 2005. Ohio State is "back out on that road again", as Steve Earle once sung, and in these situations, there really are "those that break and bend". Is Ohio State the other kind? We'll know soon enough.