Kinnick Stadium has been somewhat of a house of horrors for the Buckeyes since the turn of the millennium for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
If it feels like Ohio State has struggled every time it has gone to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes, it is because they have.
Since the year 2000, the Buckeyes have only played Iowa 11 total times and have only made the trip to Iowa City five times in the last 26 years. A fascinating reality for two teams that have been in the same conference for so long.
They were obviously on opposite sides when the conference split into two divisions, but the reality remains that the Buckeyes haven't had too many clashes with the Hawkeyes, specifically down in Iowa City.
Everything is relative in Ohio State terms. The Buckeyes have been the best program in the country for the last 25 years, but if there was one conference team that they "struggled" with other than Michigan would be the Hawkeyes.
After routing the Hawkeyes in 2000 by a score of 38-10, they went back down in 2004 shortly after the National Championship and got handed one by Iowa. Iowa beat them soundly, 33-7.
Two years later, in 2006, the Buckeyes got their revenge with a 38-17 win to right the ship. Hard to believe that for the next 20 years there would only be two more trips to Iowa City. 2010 was the next go, and it was a nail-biter for Ohio State.
They ended up winning 20-17 thanks to a clutch fourth quarter. The Buckeyes rallied 17-10 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the football game and ended up scoring 10 points in the final 7:38 seconds to steal one from the Hawkeyes,
That leaves one of the weirdest games in the Urban Meyer era as the last time Ohio State has gone down to Iowa. The No. 6-ranked Buckeyes rolled in and picked a bad day to have their worst game.
Quarterback JT Barrett threw four interceptions; Joey Bosa got ejected on one of the worst and weirdest calls you'll ever see, and the Hawkeyes' Nate Staley threw five touchdowns for the Hawkeyes. The Buckeyes suffered one of the worst losses in the Meyer era, 55-24.
That was 10 years ago now, and that was the last time that the Buckeyes went down to play in Kinnick Stadium.
So, if you feel a little bit uneasy and uncomfortable about this trip that Ohio State is about to take, it is with good reason. This year's Buckeyes have proven to be vulnerable in all of the wrong areas for Iowa. They need to show up and take care of their business this week and stay on a good pace.
It won't be easy in what has been one of their hardest places to play for the last 25 years.
