Loss to Southern Cal still wearing on Tressel, Buckeyes

COLUMBUS (AP) — When their teams are going through troubled times, some coaches fall back on Knute Rockne or Bear Bryant.

Jim Tressel leans on Christian author C.S. Lewis.

Asked if last Saturday’s 38-0 victory over Toledo might make his team overconfident, Tressel offered a quote he attributed to Lewis.

“I’ve shared with you before, the C.S. Lewis [quote], ‘The greatest danger is the illusion that all is well’ — when indeed all is not well, and that’s the truth,” Tressel said.

Tressel acknowledged Tuesday that his 13th-ranked Buckeyes haven’t completely gotten over an 18-15 loss to Southern California on Sept. 12. He also said that they cannot dwell on that much longer, not with Illinois coming in to open Big Ten play this Saturday.

“The disappointment was two weeks away,” Tressel said. “The people that fought like crazy in that football game, I’m not sure that that is a distant memory for any one of us. But the task at hand is Illinois and the task at hand is the Big Ten. I’m not saying we’re the most experienced, mature football team yet, but I’d like to think we’re aware enough to know that we’ve got to get much better.”

Ohio State bounced back with a 38-0 victory over Toledo at Cleveland Browns Stadium last Saturday, while USC was upset 16-13 at Washington.

“We did some good things Saturday against Toledo, but Toledo, everyone knows, is not in Big Ten,” Tressel said. “[That] has nothing to do with the Big Ten championship.”

Illinois (1-1) was humiliated 37-9 by Missouri in its opener before beating Illinois State 45-17. The Illini had last week off.

The Illini have dominated recently in Ohio Stadium, winning three of the last four and seven of the last 10 meetings.

“Well, these [current players] were in third grade in 1999 or whatever,” Tressel said of the Illini’s recent mastery of the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium. “It’s brought up in all the releases and all the stuff that they are privy to as well. But, no, I haven’t mentioned [that] to them.”

Like the USC defeat, Tressel said it won’t be easy for those involved to forget the 2007 loss when Ohio State was 10-0 and ranked No. 1.

“For the people that were a part of it, it’s relevant,” he said. “I’m sure some of the guys that were a part of that game, like the coaches that were here, [this week] will be a reminder.”