COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Former Ohio State quarterback and current ESPN college football commentator Kirk Herbstreit said he was surprised and denied statements made earlier Tuesday by athletic director Andy Geiger.

The feud stems from allegations made in ESPN The Magazine by ex-Buckeye tailback Maurice Clarett.

Geiger said he did not want ESPN's "College Gameday" in Columbus on Saturday for the annual showdown between Ohio State and Michigan, WCMH-TV reported.

Geiger mentioned that he was upset at the network due its continued pursuit of the Clarett story.

Some of the comments Geiger made were directed at Herbstreit.

"I understand that one of the stars of ESPN 'GameDay' went off on us a bit last night on the air," Geiger said. "I didn't hear it myself. This is secondhand, that we think we're getting bigger than college football. This is the same individual who, four weeks ago after we lost three straight games, said on the air that he didn't see how he could recommend Ohio State to a young man who wants to play offensive football.

"I'm concerned about that. And the juxtaposition of that and some of the kinds of things I've heard on and off the air with regard to that. So our welcome mat is perhaps not as thick as it once was with regard to some of those kinds of things. I don't know who is thinking that they're bigger than the game of football in this particular instance and it bothers me, and I'm pretty outspoken about it, and I'm pretty outspoken with the Big Ten about it and I talked with the commissioner about it today. I have talked to my colleague athletic directors and I'm not alone in my concern," Geiger said.

Herbstreit spoke with Valpredo on Tuesday night, saying he was sorry his objectivity got misconstrued for a lack of loyalty.

"My loyalty to my university is something I hold as sacred to me as my own family, and when someone questions that I'm incredibly sensitive to it," Herbstreit said.

Geiger spoke to local media members after head coach Jim Tressel's regularly scheduled chat with reporters to discuss the NCAA's recent investigation into allegations Clarett and other former Buckeyes made to ESPN.

Geiger said he didn't know what ESPN's agenda or motivation was for publishing and broadcasting the former players' claims.

He also said ESPN had called the university about possibly hosting "College GameDay" from Columbus. Geiger said ESPN said the location was "on their radar screen," but discussions never went further.

"I had a conversation with Dave Brown of ESPN, I think it was early last week, and he understands how I feel about ESPN and the inconsistency that we see in their behavior," Geiger said. "ESPN 'GameDay' and all of the commentating and all of the really intelligent things that are said on the air in those presentations can often be difficult to live with, just in normal times. ... Given some of the emotion around ESPN in this community, and given the required security, it probably would have been our judgment, had we been asked, to ask them to go someplace else on this particular day."

Tressel also addressed allegations made against the football program. He said he has no doubt that his program is clean.

"I feel good about how we do things here at Ohio State," Tressel said. "I feel good about how we lead this program and the intentions and the ways that we do things. I understand the rules of the game and the rules of the NCAA very, very well, and have great confidence that we follow them to the 'T'. "