Now that the preliminary games are out of the way, it’s time for The Game to take center stage next Saturday.

The only downside to this year’s rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State is that the B1G East is already decided. With Saturday’s win over Penn State, the Buckeyes have already punched their ticket to Indianapolis. However, Michigan would love to spoil a potential shot at the College Football Playoff.

Thankfully, the Wolverines have hit their stride in the second half of the year. With a string of dominant performances over the past month, Michigan heads into the season-ending rivalry with a shot at a New Year’s Six Bowl. Considering how the season has developed, that would be a nice accomplishment.

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Following the win over Indiana, Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson was asked about next week’s rivalry. He said the Wolverines are just going to focus on preparing and each player doing their jobs, but no one is treating Ohio State as an unbeatable team:

“We’re all just gonna do our job and play the game we play,” said Hutchinson. “Obviously, this is the biggest game on our schedule…we don’t see them as unbeatable. Every team can be beat, and we’re just gonna go out there and do our job.”

Angelique Chengelis with the Detroit News shared video of Hutchinson’s comments:

It’s good to see confidence heading into the big-time rivalry. However, it should be noted that Ohio State has been unbeatable to this point. Will that change in the Big House?