Buckeyes Still Trying To Shed Loss

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- 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."

In their most recent visit to Columbus, the Illini hung one of the biggest upsets ever on the Buckeyes.

Ohio State was 10-0 and ranked No. 1 when it welcomed the Illini on Nov. 10, 2007. Illinois was 7-3 and was suffering through a season of fits and starts, impressive in upsets over ranked opponents Penn State and Wisconsin but lethargic and sloppy in losses to Missouri, Iowa and Michigan.

On the game's first play from scrimmage, Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman connected with Brian Hartline on a 65-yard pass play along the right sideline. Moments later, Chris "Beanie" Wells scored on an 11 yard run and it appeared the Buckeyes juggernaut was off and running.

But the Illini served notice early. Daniel Dufrene, who will start in the backfield on Saturday, burst up the middle on an 80-yard gain on Illinois' second snap to set up quarterback Juice Williams' 3-yard TD pass to tight end Michael Hoomanawanui.

The Illini led 28-21 when Boeckman tossed his third interception of the game with 8:09 left. Taking over at their own 24, the Illini ran out the rest of the clock, reeling off 16 plays and converting four third downs and one fourth down while playing keepaway with the ball.

"Every time we pulled off a third-down conversion, it was a sigh of relief," Williams recalled this week. "It was very nerve-racking, not knowing what to expect. As we converted, we got more and more confident. Thank God we were able to run out the clock."

Like the USC defeat, Tressel said it won't be easy for those involved to forget that loss.

"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."