Tressel takes no joy in Michigan loss

OSU’s coach always roots for Big Ten teams — when he’s not playing them.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Fans cheered, players laughed, horns honked. It was quite a little celebration.

No, that wasn’t the reaction around Ohio Stadium to Ohio State’s 38-6 win over Youngstown State last Saturday, but rather Michigan’s stunning 34-32 home loss to Appalachian State that ended later.

The final minutes of the game were shown on the big screen at the stadium after most of the 105,000 paying fans had filed out. The blocked field goal in the last seconds that preserved the win elicited a large roar in the near-empty stadium.

Down in a room near the home locker room, the Buckeyes smiled when the final score was relayed to them.

Yet Ohio State coach Jim Tressel he had the opposite reaction. He was rooting for the Wolverines.

“I’m never glad when a conference opponent loses outside of your game with them,” Tressel said Tuesday. “You’re always rooting for your brethren in the Big Ten.”

Nice reminder

That might be so, but such a high-profile loss will undoubtedly make it much easier for Tressel and his staff to emphasize that the threat of a mammoth upset is always present. No. 12 Ohio State is a lopsided favorite Saturday against Akron.

“Anytime you see an alleged upset anywhere, it’s a great reminder,” Tressel said. “It [the thought] only lasts 30 seconds so you can get your mind back on what you have to do, but I’m sure every time, even if you see one on NFL Sunday where the 0-4 team beats the 4-0 team, it’s just another reminder.”

Defensive back Donald Washington said he has suffered through some awful losses and that it’s best for the Wolverines to just forget about the humiliating defeat.

“You just have to just come back and focus on the next task at hand,” he said. “You can’t dwell on last week because it’s gone, you can’t change it. I’m sure those guys are coming back and they’re ready for week two.”

Can’t overlook anyone

It’s a constant battle for the elite programs, avoiding overlooking an unknown opponent that can make history by winning.

“Our coaches do a great job every week kind of explaining to us that any team coming in here is going to be fired up,” Buckeyes wideout Brian Robiskie said.

“Michigan is a great football team and they’ll come back. They’ll be all right.”

The Buckeyes acknowledged the Wolverines’ embarrassment must be similar to what they felt after losing to Florida 41-14 in the BCS national championship game last January.

Tressel was asked if a painful loss must be buried or if a team should try to learn from it.

“I’m sure the thing that bothers every single person on their team is that they didn’t play the best they were capable of playing, not unlike the things we did in the Florida game,” Tressel said. “What do you do? You evaluate how can I be better and you make sure how can I live up to my potential and do the best I can do and then you go to work.

“I don’t know if that’s burying it or not, but you certainly cannot sit there and bemoan it.”