ANN ARBOR Jim Harbaugh spoke of the need to take better care of the football and fix some of the offenses sloppy play.

That was after Week 1.

Then came Michigans second game of the season, against Army, and many of the same problems creeped back up. More fumbles. More penalties. Missed opportunities.

The next thing the 11th-ranked Wolverines knew, they were headed to overtime against unranked Army, at home, facing the possibility of starting the season with a 1-1 record.

We know how it finished, Michigan escaping with a 24-21 victory thanks to a 43-yard field goal and defensive turnover on the final drive of the game. And then came a pivotal bye week.

I wouldnt say we lost any confidence at all, starting left guard and offensive captain Ben Bredeson said Monday. I think the great thing that these weeks showed is the things that we need to work on. So far, through the bye and and now rolling over, we can really carry on some of the smaller details that we need to correct.

- MORE: Michigan spent bye week tackling fumbles, penalties

That correction is required given the opponent that looms. Michigan opens Big Ten play against No. 13 Wisconsin on Saturday (noon, FOX), with the 2-0 Badgers having outscored their first two opponents 110-0.

They, too, are coming off a bye, and still possess the No. 1 defense in the country after three weeks. Wisconsin is only allowing 107.5 yards per game, aided by the 58 gained by Central Michigan in a 61-0 smashing on Sept. 7.

Michigan is not CMU of course, nor is it South Florida, which mustered just 26 yards on the ground at home against the Badgers in Week 1. But a tough, rugged Wisconsin team awaits.

The challenge of this game is big, Jim Harbaugh told reporters Monday. "Weve played Wisconsin now three times, (and) going on the fourth. Theyre just good every year. They seem to be every time we face them. A really talented, veteran, well-coached football team.

And playing at Camp-Randall (Stadium), thats a tough venue. Thats a tough win to get. We havent won in four or five tries, so its a big game for us. A big challenge.

Michigan has not won a football game in Madison since 2001, a stretch of four straight games (the two teams did not play there from 2010 to 2016) that includes a 24-10 loss in 2017, a season that first went off the rails with an ugly Big Ten loss at Penn State.

In both of those games, the Wolverines defense was unable to get the big stop, while their offense failed to keep up. If they are not careful on Saturday, it could be a repeat performance.

Now, not all is lost. Michigan (2-0) can clean up the turnovers (6) and penalties (10) like it did early in the season in 2018, and its likely to happen. Harbaugh-led Michigan teams rarely go long stretches making the same mistakes over. Especially with such a veteran-laden group on the offensive side of the ball.

And when you peel back the fumbles and penalties through the first two games, theres plenty of good. Plays developing as they should. Throws being made like they should. Receivers getting open.

If you watch the tape like we did, the explosive plays were all there, Bredeson said. There was always just one thing wrong. Like one thing that was wrong. Like one thing that was holding everything back.

That sentiment is shared amongst players and coaches. First-year offensive coordinator Josh Gattis emphasized the missed opportunities last week during the bye, making it a point of saying the mental mistakes would get corrected.

- MORE: Harbaugh coy on Michigans injured players ahead of Wisconsin

Its plausible to presume that they will. But will it come in time? Just this week, Bredeson admitted that Michigans new shotgun-style, RPO-injected spread offense is a complicated one. Theres a lot of moving parts and plenty to pay attention to.

Which is why, when asked this week about Shea Patterson (credited with four fumbles in the first two games this season) and the improvement hed like to see out of his senior quarterback, Harbaugh flipped it to the offense.

Just everybody on that side of the ball, that unit, more efficient, Harbaugh said. "Just cohesion. Everybody playing efficiently and with good ball security. Taking advantage of big plays when theyre there.

But also the efficient factor of run and pass, what we do as an offense. Consistently move the ball.

Harbaugh likes the number of first downs Michigan has obtained (49) through the first two games, and at times his team has been able to move the ball without trouble. But explosive plays have been few and far between.

Which brings us to this Saturday, the first road game of the season for an eager Michigan team looking to show everyone what it really can do offensively. Because there have been glimpses, like the first half of the opener against Middle Tennessee State: Shots down the field. Multiple receivers targeted. Holes opening along the offensive line.

- MORE: Michigan opens as slight underdog at Wisconsin

Were tired of (talking) ourselves, saying the things were going to change, tight end Nick Eubanks said. Actually doing it so people get a chance to see that, thats the one thing were working on.

But Wisconsin is not Middle Tennessee State, nor Army. The Badgers are big up front and faster than both teams in the secondary. Plus Michigan is tasked with having to deal with the crowd noise of 80,000-plus spectators, majority Wisconsin fans. For a team still learning how to run a shotgun-only offense, it wont be an easy task.

Factor all of that in including the mistake-filled first two games and its probably why the oddsmakers in Las Vegas list Michigan as an underdog on Saturday for the first time in over a year.

While the Big Ten race certainly wont be decided on Saturday, the game will go a long way in determining where this Michigan offense stands. Another off-kilter performance, and loss, puts the pressure on Gattis and Harbaugh. A well-oiled machine, as Harbaugh likes to describe it, could put the rest of the conference on notice.

This weekend, we get the first real glimpse into what kind of team Michigan really is. Not only do the Wolverines have to figure themselves out on offense, but the defense will have its hands full with all-Big Ten running back Jonathan Taylor, who has 237 yards and five touchdowns rushing on 35 carries.

The importance of being good, Harbaugh said. Thats what Ive always thought of with road games. The best way to win them is be a good team.

More Michigan football coverage:

Jim Harbaugh and Michigan football: Cash is flowing but the trophy case is empty

U-M football found its backup RB during the bye week

Kickoff time, TV announced for Michigan footballs game vs. Rutgers

Michigan drops again in AP Top 25 poll

Zach Charbonnet has always been a beast, former teammate says

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Michigan's offense remains a work in progress, and Wisconsin looms - MLive.com