"There's a Kinko's three blocks South, they do resumes, Brady, good luck wherever you end up," the Michigan State coach commented during the post game, mid field handshake.
Moments later, Hoke's voice boomed loud enough to be heard through the concrete walls and into the hallway. The coach challenged his team to get back to work and laid the blame for the Wolverines' latest loss to rival Michigan State on himself.
"I didn't prepare you well enough," he yelled. It was brief. There's not much left to say.
Nothing seems to be changing for Michigan. Certainly not against No. 8 Michigan State.
The latest mauling of the Wolverines by the Spartans ended 35-11 on Saturday.
Michigan (3-5, 1-3 Big Ten) finally scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter, its first against their rivals since 2011. Whether or not the Wolverines could get into the end zone was the only interesting thing about the fourth quarter.
"We're all very disappointed and should be," Hoke said. "No. 1 a rivalry game and it's a Big Ten game. The message also is we're going back to work. We have each other."
It used to be news when Michigan State (7-1, 4-0) beat Michigan, when little brother rose up and knocked the mighty Wolverines down a peg. Now it's routine and the Paul Bunyan Trophy has taken up almost permanent residence in East Lansing. The Spartans have won six of seven, and the last two have been noncompetitive.
Michigan State has stepped on Michigan on its way to the top of the Big Ten, and the Wolverines inability to keep that from happening, to swing the rivalry back toward Michigan, is one of the reasons Hoke's future as coach in Ann Arbor is in serious doubt.
Win totals have been on the decline at Michigan since Hoke's first season, when he took a team left behind by Rich Rodriguez to the Sugar Bowl. Then it was eight wins in 2012 and seven last year. He came into this season needing to reverse that trend. Instead, the slide continues.
You know it's looking bad for a coach when the rival fans start begging for him to stay. Before Saturday's game a plane flew a banner over Spartan Stadium that read: U OF M - KEEP BRADY HOKE - PLZZZ. Michigan State fans chanted "Keep Brady."
"No," senior linebacker Jake Ryan said when asked if he heard the sarcastic chants. "We're going into work tomorrow."
Michigan needs to win three of its last four just to be bowl eligible, and finishes the season at rival Ohio State.
