COLUMBUS -- Even though cross-country recruiting trips and Alamo Bowl preparations have kept him from sitting back and savoring last month's win over Michigan, you won't hear "Bah, humbug!" coming from the mouth of Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel.

In fact, he nearly broke into a chorus of "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" while meeting with reporters this past week for the first time since the 37-21 victory over Michigan spoiled the Wolverines' bid for an undisputed Big Ten championship and salvaged a so-so-season for the Buckeyes (7-4, 4-4 Big Ten).

They spent the past three days practicing for the Alamo Bowl, to be played Dec. 29 in San Antonio. They will have eight more workouts before leaving for Texas on Dec. 22.

OSU's opponent, presumably Texas Tech (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) or Oklahoma State (7-4, 4-4), will be announced this evening.

"It's all fun," Tressel said. "Recruiting is fun, getting ready for Texas Tech or whomever is fun, working on fundamentals is fun and scrimmaging the young players is fun ... but there are only so many hours in the day."

With the exception of linebacker Mike D'Andrea, who had major knee surgery in October, everyone is expected to be available for the bowl game.

The Buckeyes will practice at home until Dec. 16, after which the players get a few days off to celebrate the holiday season.

Once they arrive in San Antonio, there will be no off-days, not even Christmas.

"We'll practice that day because it's like Tuesday of a (typical game) week," Tressel said, "but we'll give them some time to enjoy the day."

Christmas came early for kicker Mike Nugent, named an All-American by the American Football Coaches Association on Thursday. He was also named to the team in 2002.

"I think it's definitely special," said Nugent, who will find out Tuesday in Orlando if he wins the Lou Groza Award. "It's always an honor when you find out about something like that. It kind of shows that you work as hard as you could to get where you are today, and hopefully I can just keep it up from now until whenever."

Nugent, a senior from Centerville, converted 20 of 23 field goal attempts this season and all 27 extra-point tries. Also, 34 of his 55 kickoffs were touchbacks.

He holds 18 school records, and with 341 points is seven shy of Pete Johnson's OSU career scoring mark. Nugent should have a shot at breaking the record inside the climate-controlled, 65,000-seat Alamodome.

"Obviously, you don't have to worry about the wind or it being too cold or too hot," Nugent said. "I'll do exactly the same thing I've always done. When I go out for pre-game, it's just to warm up and see what my range is."

In his career, Nugent has converted eight of his nine field goal tries of 50 yards or or beyond.

"I was on the committee with the coaches All-American team and there wasn't even a blink of an eye when his name was brought up," Tressel said. "He was an unanimous choice. So everyone is very aware of what he has done, not just this season but over his career."

It doesn't bother Tressel that his Buckeyes have held three post-season practices without knowing their bowl opponent.

"We'll spend some time working on ourselves first," he said, "so maybe it's just as well we don't know the opponent."

That Big 12 representative will be facing an Ohio State team coming off its best performance of the season -- maybe of the last two seasons -- in the win over Michigan.

The Buckeyes rolled up 446 yards, riding the arm of Troy Smith and the legs of Smith and former Glenville High teammate Ted Ginn Jr. to the upset victory. Smith accounted for 386 yards (241 passing, 145 rushing) and Ginn set a Big Ten single-season record by scoring for the fourth time on a punt return.

Their third win in four years over Michigan enabled the Buckeyes to jump back into the Top 25 this past week. They are No. 25 in the Associated Press poll and No. 22 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll.

"I hope there's momentum," Tressel said. "We did some good things, but after watching film we probably didn't do as many good things as we thought.

"If we continue to improve and keep growing, there has to be a confidence level. But there has to be a reality level, too."

Originally published Monday, December 6, 2004