Ohio State Football: Are Buckeyes Ready for Hostile Virginia Tech Environment?

Since taking over in 2012, Urban Meyer has led Ohio State into some of the most hostile environments in college football.

In 2012 and 2014, there were treacherous trips to East Lansing and State College for matchups against Michigan State and Penn State. There was the unpleasant visit to Madison, Wisconsin, during Bret Bielema's last season as head coach of the Badgers. And unsurprisingly, the folks in Ann Arbor, Michigan, weren't all that pleasant when the Buckeyes came calling in 2013.

Each of those stadiums reached incapacitating levels of hysteria at kickoff, but when the final whistle blew, it was Ohio State that was making all the noise.

The Buckeyes haven't lost a true road game during the Meyer era, and that streak will be put on the line when they travel south for a prime-time matchup with Virginia Tech on Monday.

The secret to Ohio State's success on the road?

According to Meyer, it's pretty simple.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

"There's no magical formula other than you recruit really well," Meyer said, according to Eric Seger of Eleven Warriors. "Motivate and push and go. I think recruit really well is probably the best way to win on the road."

That's certainly a simple logic to follow. If Meyer has great players, his chances of winning in any environment increase. And the Buckeyes have recruited incredibly well with Meyer at the helm, signing the Big Ten's best recruiting class in each of the last four years. 

But talent won't reach its full potential without the right leadership, and that's something the Buckeyes have in abundance right now. 

"Very, very good guys and very good leaders," Meyer said, via Seger. "That's probably the thing I love the most. Josh Perrys , Darron Lees, Adolphus Washington, Joel Hale, Decker, Elflein, Jacoby Boren, those guys. They're priceless as far as leadership and guys I trust."

Ohio State will need those leaders, because Virginia Tech is hyping the season opener in a big way. Inside Hokie Sports editor Jimmy Robertson relayed this from Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer:

"We’ve had a lot of big games at Lane Stadium. The more you win, the more a game becomes important," Beamer said in July, according to Chris Graham of Augusta Free Press. "So over the years, the last few years, we’ve had a lot of big games in there. But I think from an anticipation standpoint, it is big."

So big, in fact, that Virginia Tech cancelled all classes on Monday in anticipation of heavy "campus traffic loads."

The Buckeyes, of course, are hoping to avenge the lone defeat of their championship campaign. The Hokies made the trip to Columbus and beat Ohio State in its home opener last season, and players have been bracing for their shot at redemption all offseason. 

"Been grinding so what happened on Sept. 6, 2014 don't happen again on Sept. 7, 2015," starting safety Tyvis Powell tweeted in June. "Hope y'all been in the lab bc we COMING!"

The Buckeyes are certainly coming, but what awaits is one of the country's most hostile environments.

David Regimbal is the Ohio State football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.