Right from the start, I set a single goal for those men.

Beat Ohio State.

— Bo Schembechler, as told in “Bo,” co-authored by Schembechler and Mitch Albom.

***

January 11, 2011

Brady Hoke stood at the podium in the Junge Family Center, looking out at a flood of media members and cameras.

It was his first press conference as head coach of the University of Michigan.

“I think that rivalry is special,” said Hoke, an Ohio native, his eyes beaming in the spotlight. “It’s like none other in football. Being engaged in that battle for eight years and growing up in the state, you knew. It is the most important game on that schedule.”

He pounded the podium with each word — The. Pound. Most. Pound. Important. Pound. Game. Pound.

He spoke loudly and confidently. If you walked into the room and just listened without any knowledge of the situation, you may have wondered why the guy at the podium seemed so excited.

But if you knew anything about 1969, you knew why.

***

In 2009, members of the 1969 Michigan team gathered for a 40-year reunion at a tailgate before the Ohio State game.

Forty years.

Most would figure you’d be lucky to have a few players show up after such a long period of time.

Not this team — not a team led by Bo Schembechler. Former players engulfed the tailgate, sharing memories and laughing as if no time had passed at all.

“This is a special group,” said Dan Dierdorf, a former All American right tackle, in an interview with AnnArbor.com at the tailgate. “We have been close every since we walked out of this campus together. I think it was Bo that really melded us into not just a good football team. We formed a lot of lifelong friendships, and they continue to this day.”

Dick Caldarazzo, a senior left guard on the team, is in charge of emailing the former players and setting up reunions.

“That was the class I believe (Schembechler) was closest to,” Caldarazzo said. “I think it was the fact that he introduced this concept, this way of playing football, way of practicing, that we all bought into.”

It’s a camaraderie that began with Schembechler and was carried out by the seniors on that 1969 team.

And if Michigan does this year what it did in 1969 during Schembechler’s first season at the helm, it’s a camaraderie that can be cemented in the legacy of Brady Hoke.

***

November 15, 1969

It was one of those days in November when you yearned to have warm summer days back, one of those days where it hits you: “Winter is here.”

Or, for a Michigan football player: “Ohio State week can’t be far off.”

“It snowed like crazy,” recalled Jerry Hanlon, who was an assistant coach under Schembechler from 1969-89. “We had a motel we stayed at, and there was so much space under the door that snow came halfway into my room.”

In those days, there were no snow blowers, no easy ways out. So they innovated.

“They got a helicopter on Saturday morning and just blew all the snow off the field,” Hanlon said. “And then the sun came out, and it was a beautiful day.”

No. 14 Michigan, 6-2 at the time, was playing unranked Iowa, who was 4-4 and in desperate need of a win.

It was the perfect trap game. No. 1 Ohio State — which had been deemed “The Greatest Team in the History of College Football” — loomed a week away. With just one Big Ten loss, the Wolverines were in line for a Rose Bowl berth if they could win their last two games.

But they had to beat the Hawkeyes in Iowa City first.

After 60 minutes of physical, hard-nosed football, Michigan had not only beaten Iowa — it had bulldozed right through the Hawkeyes en route to a 51-6 pounding.

And the Wolverines could sense the Buckeyes all the way from Iowa City.

“We were really happy we won that game, but the next thing, we just wanted Ohio State,” Caldarazzo said. “We would’ve left our clothes on and played Ohio State that afternoon if we could come back on the field.”

***

November 19, 2011

There were over six minutes left, but already the chants had begun.

No. 20 Michigan led No. 17 Nebraska, 45-17 — the Wolverines had dominated in every facet of the game.

“Beat O-HI-O! Beat O-HI-O!”

The cheer started in a small corner of the student section but grew like wildfire.