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Michigan is a massive underdog at home against Ohio State on Saturday, but the Wolverines don't really care.

(Melanie Maxwell | MLive.com)

ANN ARBOR -- Anyone looking for a gauge on just how bad its been for Brady Hoke's Michigan football team over the past month need look no further than one very odd -- yet very expected -- question he received Monday.

How confident are you (that a Michigan win) can happen?

Yep. We've reached that portion of the season for Michigan, when the head coach gets asked if he believes his football team can win a game Saturday when the Wolverines face Ohio State (noon, ABC).

Hoke responded the only way he could.

"I'm very confident," Hoke said. "Or else, we wouldn't play.

"I'd just call down there to Columbus and say 'we won't do it.' "

Michigan enters this game as a massive home underdog, 14 points to be exact, against an Ohio State program that appears to be on a completely different trajectory.

After Michigan snapped its eight-year losing streak to the Buckeyes in 2011, Ohio State hired Urban Meyer, lost a meaningless bowl game and proceeded to rattle off 23 straight victories.

Michigan, meanwhile, has gone 15-9, 9-6 in Big Ten play.

The Wolverines have crumbled offensively, while Ohio State has taken flight under Meyer -- rattling off 48.7 points per game.

The Buckeyes are outscoring foes by an average of 30.3 points per game, and are rushing for more than 300 yards per outing.

Still, Michigan says it's got a shot. Actually, Michigan knows it's got a shot.

And it doesn't care what you think about that.

"We have heart, this team believes in themselves," Michigan left tackle Taylor Lewan said. "It doesn't matter what any media or any fan or anybody thinks about this team. The only thing that matters is if the guys in the locker room believe.

"That's it. I don't care if a trainer on our team or somebody else doesn't believe, it doesn't matter. They're not playing the game."

If this game were played on paper, Michigan would have no chance.

The Wolverines have been a nightmare in November, Devin Gardner's been beat up, the offensive line has been in shambles all season and nothing seems to work when they really need it to.

But, fortunately for Michigan, football isn't played on paper.

It's played in reality. And Saturday, it'll be played in Ann Arbor.

It'll be Michigan-Ohio State. Throw out the records, right? And the point spreads? And the winning streaks? And the statistics? And everything else?

"This is it, the University of Michigan, this is all we've got, family. Brothers," Lewan said. "If we all believe, if we have 115 guys believing, then we can win a game. A game. A single game. I don't care what the (spread is).

"Saturday, all bets are off."

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