Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez dodged questions Monday afternoon about the significance of potential wins over Wisconsin or Ohio State in regards to his job security.

But he didn’t downplay the importance victories could hold for his upperclassmen. Saturday’s game against Wisconsin will be the senior class’s final home game.

“These guys – our seniors and our juniors – have been through an awful lot the last couple of years,” Rodriguez said at his weekly press conference, referring to back-to-back losing seasons in his first two years as head coach. “They’ve heard as much stuff as anybody. I’m proud because when I see them, when we’re around them, they’ve been totally focused and tunnel-visioned on doing what we tell them to do.

“In the next couple of years, they can come back and say, 'We were the ones who got it right when it needed to get right.' ”

Rodriguez said the Wolverines would honor their seniors at the end of Thursday’s practice and then have a special ceremony at the team hotel Friday night. A couple of seniors will likely speak about their experiences at Michigan, a moment Rodriguez said would be “very, very emotional for both the coaches and the players.”

“The greatest achievement you can (have) as a college student athlete is to complete your senior year,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not winning All-American or setting records. Because if you’ve done that, gone through your senior year no matter what sport, you’ve made a commitment — a sacrifice — for that team and that university that a lot of people haven’t.

“If you look at just our seniors now and the guys that came in with them that are no longer here didn’t make that same commitment and sacrifice. These guys have, so they should be honored because of it.”

Not thinking about job security: A 7-3 record — which guarantees Michigan’s first winning season with Rodriguez at the helm — should quiet some of the coaching hot-seat talk, right?

Well, not in Ann Arbor.

“All we do is come to work every day and try to build the best program in America,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve had obstacles. We’ve had bumps in the road. We’re pressing forward. I’m hoping that there’s enough positive momentum and positive talk (so that) all the negativity that’s been out there kind of gets pushed aside a little bit. We lose a game, then there’s negative talk that comes out. That’s the nature of the beast.”

The Wolverines are the fifth-best offense in the nation in terms of total yardage, but questions still arise about whether or not the spread offense works in the three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust Big Ten.

“That’s for everybody else’s opinion,” Rodriguez said. “I understand the talk’s out there, and it’s been out there for three years, probably since the day I took the job and stood right here for my very first press conference.”

Injury update: Michigan beat Purdue on Saturday without arguably its two most productive defenders, junior nose tackle Mike Martin and senior linebacker Jonas Mouton.

Rodriguez said it’s unclear whether or not they will be able to play Saturday against Wisconsin.

"We're hopeful they both can play," Rodriguez said. "They didn't play at all last week. We'll see what they can do in practice (Tuesday) and Wednesday. Hoping to have both back for Saturday."

Senior Adam Patterson started for Martin and senior Mark Moundros started for Mouton against Purdue last Saturday.

Sophomore running back Mike Shaw, who left the Purdue game with concussion-like symptoms, is awaiting results of tests that will be conducted the next few days to see if he can play Saturday.

Last weekend, redshirt junior Mark Huyge made his third straight start at right tackle for senior Perry Dorrestein, who is nursing a knee sprain. Dorrestein should be back this week.

Rodriguez said redshirt sophomore running back Mike Cox has been banged up, and that’s why he didn’t make the trip to Purdue. Fellow running back Fitz Toussaint returned from a shoulder injury against Purdue, though he did not carry the ball.