COLUMBUS, Ohio - For a hot second there, Brady Hoke had you smiling again.



Admit it.



Just like he did when he took over as Michigan's coach in 2011, a year after the Rich Rodriguez experiment came to a halt, leaving Wolverines fans completely fried, wiped and exhausted, Hoke made them all smile.



He went 11-2. He beat Ohio State. He won the Sugar Bowl. He said all the right things. For the first quarter or so of his tenure, he had you believing.



Sort of like Saturday afternoon in Columbus. For the first quarter or so, you were hooked. Michigan entered Ohio Stadium buried in turmoil, given zero chance by anyone to have a shot in this game, and somehow found itself up 14-7 about 23 minutes in.



But then, just like they have in a big-picture sense during Hoke's tenure at Michigan, things slowly but surely fizzled.



In many ways, Saturday was Brady Hoke's tenure at Michigan.



The first act had you on the edge of your seat.



But the final three quarters had you shaking your head.



Michigan's 42-28 loss at Ohio State on Saturday afternoon may well have been the final act of Hoke's run at Michigan, and it probably should be. The Wolverines gave absolutely everything they had for 60 minutes against their biggest rival, and still trailed by 21 in the fourth quarter.



Led by a coach who never gives up, the Wolverines never stopped trying once this season. And they never quit once on Saturday. They fought, scrapped and clawed. They did everything they could to win a football game.



They just weren't good enough.



Michigan stunned the Ohio Stadium crowd early in the game, when Devin Gardner found Devin Funchess over the top for a 45-yard gain. Then seconds later, Gardner found Jake Butt in the back of the end zone for his first touchdown pass on the road all season. And things got even more interesting midway through the second quarter, when Gardner led the team on its most impressive drive of the season by far, a 15-play, 95-yard march to give the team a seven-point edge and leave Urban Meyer with flashes of deja vu.



But much like that early success Michigan had under Hoke in 2011, it all appeared to be a mirage. Ohio State remembered that its quarterback is one of the best players in America, and J.T. Barrett sliced and diced the Wolverines in the final moments of the first half, shredding through the defense for an easy 25-yard touchdown romp that erased all of Michigan's momentum.



And as we've seen during the Hoke era, once this team loses momentum, it just can't get it back.



Barrett opened the second half with more of the same, zipping the Buckeyes down the field for an easy touchdown, making it a 21-14 game and giving Ohio State breathing room. Normally, that's not much breathing room. But when you're playing a team like Michigan, who does not have any margin for error, seven points can be an awful lot.



And just like it has so many times during Hoke's four years here, this team had chances Saturday to get back in the game.



It just wasn't good enough.



After Barrett left the game on a cart due to a fractured ankle, Michigan got the football back down seven with 13:31 to play. Ohio State was without its best player. Things looked shaky for the home team. A Michigan touchdown march at that point would have changed everything.



But water always levels. It leveled Saturday afternoon in The Horseshoe, and it has leveled over Hoke's four years as the program's head coach.



Eventually, all mirages disappear. Reality sets in. Things become very, very clear and you are what you are.



Michigan's not a good football team, finishing the season at 5-7. It's not well-coached. It's not getting better week-to-week or even year-to-year.



Brady Hoke's a good guy, he works hard, he tries hard.



It's just not enough.



Not on Saturday, and not over the last four seasons.

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