For Michigan and head coach Brady Hoke, this is The Game.

This is the one that Hoke grew up pretending to be a part of as a kid in his back yard in Dayton, Ohio. The one that fired him up enough to pound his fist on the podium when describe his passion for beating “that school from Ohio” the first time he was introduced as the head coach at Michigan. The one that caused an almost identical scene four years later when talking about what a win would mean this time around. And for Hoke, there is a pretty good chance it will also be the last one.

Michigan enters this year’s rivalry game with a 5-6 record, which won’t sit well during the team evaluation interim athletic director Jim Hackett promised to complete when the season comes to a close. There is little left to salvage for this season's group of Wolverines in a big-picture sense, but beating the Buckeyes would still let the senior class end on a rare high note.

"Winning the last game always means a lot," Hoke said. "I don’t think there’s ever a time with any senior class going out, in my experience, in this game when it hasn’t meant something. You want to be able to go back and say, 'In my senior year we beat Ohio.'"

Hoke is wrapping up his own senior season of sorts. His fourth year in Ann Arbor is winding to a close, and it would be surprising if he was eligible to return next fall. It's likely that this will be the last time he will coach in the game he has spent the past half century idolizing as the greatest sporting event in the world. He said he hasn’t let that affect his thoughts as he gets ready this week.

"Not at all," Hoke said. "The one thing I know is if you don’t put all your focus and everything into your preparation and emotion for this game, then as a coach you’re missing it, too. It’s a fun week. That doesn’t make sense to some people maybe. For both teams, this is truly an honor and a privilege to play in this game. It. Is. The. Game."

The rivalry grew to that level of reverence when Big Ten championships, if not more, hung in the balance at the annual season finale. This season's crop of seniors recalled the No. 1 vs. No. 2 classic in 2006 as their favorite memory of watching the game while growing up. The implications of this Saturday’s game are far more one-sided.

Ohio State is playing to preserve a potential playoff bid. Michigan has nothing to play for but a good memory.

As much as Wolverine players are trained to dislike the Buckeyes ("I’ll say this as diplomatically as I can," center Jack Miller said. "I’m not a fan of Ohio State"), they said Monday that they take no extra joy in playing the spoiler role. Bowl eligibility is still on the table with an upset win, but at this point most folks in Ann Arbor would rather turn this season into a repressed memory than drag it out with a trip to a meaningless bowl game.

The motivation to save Hoke’s job is gone, too. That ship sailed with a loss to Maryland last weekend, which killed November momentum and guaranteed that Michigan’s record would be worse than the year before for the third straight time under Hoke.

Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison offered a passionate defense of Hoke’s resume Monday.

"I’ve done this a long time. I’ve been with a lot of head coaches," he said. "You don’t know how lucky you are here."

Hoke -- whether it was an effort to keep storylines pointed toward the game and his players and away from himself or just his ability to see the writing on the wall -- was far less interested in stumping for his job. He seemed Monday to complete his trip through the five stages of grief and land at acceptance. When asked to evaluate the state of his program, Hoke told reporters he imagined he would have a more appropriate time to do that soon enough. Then he smiled wryly, like an outlaw already strapped to the chair.

That leaves him with more than likely one game, The Game, to finish his dream job with a good taste in his mouth. Hoke and his players have sidestepped big-picture questions throughout the season by saying the only thing that matters is the game right in front of them. At last, they're right.